Road to Xehanort
by theDarkestZero
Summary: Vanitas has stayed within Sora's heart for over ten years. But recently he's been able to break through the heart's barrier and was able to spy on a secret meeting between a group of black hooded figures. After that, everything seems to change, and Vanitas is given hope. Once he breaks through he takes on this threat of the cloaked figures on his quest to face off against Xehanort.
1. Unknown Meeting

**_ This story centers around Vanitas, and is a direct multi-chapter sequel to my previous one-shot story, Nonexistent Union. ( **** s/10503328/1/Nonexistant-Union****) The chapters will be kept within one thousand to two thousand words and won't be too long. This is meant to detail the events centering Vanitas and Xehanort, as well as the 'lost ones' whose stories were supposed to be over, and is a sort of prelude to Kingdom Hearts III. Enjoy! _**

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**Unknown Meeting**

**_"_****_Are you really going to let Sora's heart keep you forever? Destiny Islands couldn't keep me contained. You can indeed escape if you put your mind to it. You weren't the only one who suffered. I too was strung along a series of events that changed me and placed me into different forms over the years, but that all led to my resurrection."_**

Words spoken by the Master I had tried to and have long forgotten over these ten or more pointless years. Could I even tell time anymore? After all, I was inside Sora's heart. Time was pointless until I got out. And who knows how one is supposed to _escape _a heart.

Back on the subject of time. Within Sora's heart, which had taken the form of the _cage _known as Destiny Islands, time almost seemed normal. The sun would rise, travel across the sky, and then set, soon to be replaced by that mysterious false moon that had made me wonder what the moon really looked like.

I had been freed from the darkness within Ventus. I guess you could say I was artificial. Created by the old man known as Xehanort. So I could not even remember what the moon looked like.

Whenever I tried thinking of the moon, all I could think of was that blasted heart-shaped moon Xehanort had tried so hard to create. The Heart of All Worlds, the mighty entity, Kingdom Hearts.

It was sunset here in Sora's heart. The sun hung over the horizon and was breathtaking. I knew it was fake, but I've learned to deal with it for the time being.

I had taken off my socks and shoes and slipped out of my shirt. I ran towards the water that was gently lapping at the shore, the bits of sand crunching underneath then soles of my feet, and I gently began walking on the cool surface of water.

As I kept running I gradually sank into the water. At last I was within swimming waters, and I started swimming even further. I don't know why, but every day on this _cursed _Island I have to swim in order to keep sane.

My four other roommates don't exactly do me any favors. As I swam to my unknown destination, I had reached the barrier between Sora's heart and the outside world.

No matter how many times you try, you can't pass the barrier. You just find yourself on the opposite side of the island wondering what the hell had happened.

Once crossing the border, it's like you pass out for a moment and then wake up an hour later not even sure what had happened at all. I knew something would happen, I just needed clarification on what this _something _is. So I cross the border every day.

And every day, I can't find the answer.

But I intended to find the answer. The answer that will tell me how to escape. How…to escape. How, exactly?

When I crossed the border this time, my entire body felt dry. My negative emotions clicked off. Now I felt…nothing. A jolt of power seemed to course through my veins. I opened my eyes and saw the deserted wasteland I once called the Badlands, right off the outskirts to the Keyblade Graveyard.

When I stepped forward, I noticed I was completely nude. Why exactly was I like this? I could only think of one explanation. I was a ghost. Well, something like that.

And ghosts didn't wear clothes…did they? It didn't matter. I looked around, the sand stinging against my body as it whipped around in a furious storm.

Four people wearing cloaks in black seemed to circle the area, pacing back and forth for a strange reason. I couldn't exactly place who these mystery men were, but when I heard their voices I had some idea.

The first who spoke dropped his shoulders in defeat and screamed, "I'm tired of waiting for that old coot!" _Braig. _The voice was that of Braig, one of Xehanort's accomplices from over ten years ago. "When will he be here?"

"When he gets here, Braig," a raspy voice I couldn't place said. "But first we have to go over our new agenda. What will we do…to stop those… _Keybearers_ in their place?"

"You paused before you said Keybearers," Braig replied with an overdramatic laugh. "You were going to say _Lea_, weren't you, Isa?" So the other one's name was Isa. "Or should I call him Axel? He still is _our _Axel, isn't he?"

"Complete difference," Isa remarked. "Lea's even more stupid than Axel, and even Axel got himself killed."

These two obviously were part of one of Xehanort's nefarious evil schemes, much like I was over ten years ago. The other two that were with them haven't spoke for a while.

At last one of them did speak, in quite a deep voice as well. "Stop speaking to each other in such…melodramatic ways. Don't make this more stressful than it has to be. Axel was a traitor and Lea is just the original form…of said traitor. Isa, get over him quickly."

"Yes, Lord Xemnas," Isa replied.

The last one to speak had a deep voice as well, but not too much like Xemnas's. "All I'm concerned about is how many dark powers each of the new Organization members hold. Remember, there's only seven of us currently…after our last encounter with Sora and the other lights, the other five we had with us returned to their times, just as we did. However, Xehanort still brought us back before the others. Of course, we're Xehanort's top priorities. So bickering is going to get us nowhere."

"Well said, _Not-Xemnas_," Braig replied. "What's the difference again? He's a Nobody, has power over _Nothing_, and you have darkness…"

"You realize this _Nothing_ you speak of is what got you to obtain your powers, _Xigbar_," Xemnas replied, then looked to the last figure. "Ansem, get the younger Xehanort and bring him here. That's what Master Xehanort is waiting for, yes?"

Without another word, the one named Ansem had vanished within a corridor of darkness, much like how Xehanort had used to get around.

So by this point, I wasn't entirely sure of what was going on. I only recognized Braig, but the others called Xemnas, Isa, and Ansem seemed to be important to Xehanort as well. What had happened…while I was away?

And they couldn't see me either. How lucky was that? I could have easily vanished and gone away, until I realized that wherever my real body was, I myself could not disappear without it.

Simply, my brain had started to hurt. I closed my eyes and when I opened them…I was on the opposite side of Destiny Islands, fully clothed save for my socks, shoes, and shirt.

I picked myself up. I felt the exact same way I had every time I blacked out going passed the border.

Except this time, I could remember my journey. The journey beyond Sora's heart.

I think I hit a breakthrough.

Could I escape?

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**How did you like this first chapter? Kinda short, but sweet. Vanitas could finally break through the barrier of Sora's heart, and actually remember what his journey passed it is like. So what is this group of black hooded figures doing, and why did Vanitas see this vision? Stay tuned.**


	2. Dreams, Storms, Travelers

**I enjoyed typing up this chapter because I can move along with the story a lot. KH does not belong to me! The plot iks entirely mine, though. Well...read and review!...**

**Dreams, Storms, Travelers**

I didn't really think dreams were possible if you were practically dead, and the only thing keeping your life-force alive being Sora's heart. That's what I thought…until I had the dream that night.

I thought he saw Sora. I was walking toward the spikey haired teen, side-by-side with a silver haired teen I didn't quite recognize, but those golden eyes sure ringed familiar. _Xehanort_.

"Hypocrite," the man on the side me spoke in a deep voice. He had on the black cloak of this _Organization_ and longish silvery hair. "You were the one who has made your heart a prison.

"You again!?" Sora asked, acting as if he knew this silver haired weirdo. He caught up to us by running forward. "What are you talking about?

The two of us had stopped walking in front of Sora, giving Sora a moment to look at us. Well, he looked more so at this young Xehanort, as if I wasn't there. After all, it was a dream.

I soon knew what I had to say, almost against my will. Along with the younger Xehanort, I looked Sora in the eyes and said, "Even if you are not the prisoner."

This was even weirder. He looked at me this time. He had _seen_ me. Before I was like a ghost. It was almost like that time I crossed the border and was able to spy on those four hooded people. Except this time, Sora could see me. Without warning, the darkness over took me and I felt a strange force pull at my stomach.

The entire place seemed to warp around me, until I finally saw my…_newer _surroundings.

"Hey! Is this how you wanted it?" A voice called, and I noticed that I was seeing Braig. I quickly turned around and saw a man with silver hair, almost looking like the younger Xehanort, though not too much. In fact, he had some resemblance to…dare I say it…Terra. His eyes flashed from brown to golden, back to brown, and then completely golden again. "Xehanort! You wanna fill me in?"

At this point I knew that I was dreaming things that had really happened. Who else could dream up these things? I looked down at the floor, and sprawled out on the floor, darkness emanating off their lifeless bodies, were a man and a child I did not recognize.

A Keyblade appeared in _Xehanort's _hand. "I am…" he said with a raspy voice.

"Hey, do you remember now, or…? Wait, did you never lose your memory?" Braig replied, sounding surprised.

Xehanort rushed passed me, nearly phasing through me like I was a ghost, and jabbed his Keyblade within Braig's heart, and Braig let out a gasp.

"That's not my name," the other man replied. "I'm not…'Xehanort'."

"Wha?" Braig asked. Braig fell over, falling to the ground with a thud just like those other two on the floor. A light appeared over Braig's chest, and the shiny sphere that was known as a _Heart _escaped from Braig, soon vanishing into thin air.

"My name…is _Ansem_."

I felt the tugging in my stomach again, and darkness overtook me and I reappeared somewhere else. But where?

I appeared in what looked like…that throne-room area Xehanort had taken me to within the Land of Departure's main castle. The place looked older, though. It looked more ancient like it was many years ago. Two figures sat on the two thrones towards the back of the room.

One was the younger Xehanort, the other looked like Eraqus, but younger and without that scar. Xehanort spoke first.

"Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War? Many years ago, Keyblade warriors started a war over the ownership of light."

Eraqus was the next to speak, in his younger teenage voice. "Yep, the master loves telling that story." He smirked and put his chin in his hand, a trait that Xehanort, well, the _older _Xehanort normally shows.

"Then I take it you also know of the lost masters?" Xehanort asked back.

"Nope, where'd you hear that?"

Xehanort smirked and paused for a while, studying Eraqus's facial features well. He then looked…in my direction. He smirked, and then said, "On that land shall darkness prevail and light expire."

I felt another tug at my gut, this time with even more force that it made me yelp out, making the younger Xehanort smile even more.

"Xehanort, what was that?" Eraqus asked quickly. _Damn. _He heard me? I thought I was a ghost, or that this was a dream, or something. Darkness swirled around me and my vision began to get fuzzy. The world seemed to spin around me. A voice spoke in my head…

_"__This world…is just too small."_

"Just to small…" I muttered to myself, and whenever my vision returned I saw that I was laying on the beach, my feet soaking in the water, and I started hearing the roar of thunder and a pestering Roxas by my side.

"Get up!" he yelled angrily. "Nami and Xion are taking care of things, but you can't stay out here!"

"What's going on?" I asked. Wait a minute. This wasn't right. It never stormed here. Wait another minute. This was a heart. Sora's heart. Why would it even storm? I noticed the loud sound of rain pitter-pattering against the sand and the water.

I stood up to my feet and looked Roxas dead in the eyes. "How is this even happening, Roxas?"

"As I told the others, I don't know!" Roxas screamed back at me, and lightning struck the water ahead. "Come on, Vanitas!"

I had no choice but to listen to the Ven lookalike. I followed Roxas back to the treehouse. The route there wasn't the safest route to take. I was hit with multiple pieces of debris that I of course was too stupid enough to see coming.

I was hit with a tree branch, an old wooden raft, and a flurry of sand and leaves. Roxas began climbing up the rope ladder that led to the treehouse.

When I looked back, there were two waterspouts spinning on the water of the ocean. Where was this weather even coming from?

The water turned into a sickly shade of purple, and darkness started spewing out of the waterspouts. "What the hell?" I yelled out.

And if that weren't bad enough, strange looking black creatures rose from the ground like living shadows, with spherical yellow eyes that cut through the darkness. I started chuckling. So these are the _Heartless_ I've heard about.

One of the Shadows leaped at me, so I swung my hand at it and appearing within my grasp was my Keyblade, the Void Gear. With that slash, the Shadow vanished and melted into a liquidy darkness, but only to replace two more Shadows.

As I slashed away at the Shadows, I forgot how fun it was to hack and slash at things, killing them with every swing. The thrill of being on top of the world as my enemies perished. How great it was to actually be in control. I hadn't found happiness like this in over ten years.

But they kept coming. I couldn't even count all of them. A pair of footsteps was heard beside me, so I turned around quickly to see who was there. It was a familiar face from just a while back.

Ansem the Wise…or merely his data. Whatever, it didn't matter. He was there for some reason. "Vanitas!" he yelled out. "This strange darkness came after you! What have you done?"

"Okay, I understand I am a 'bad guy' but why does everyone automatically assume I did something?" I asked in a cocky tone. "Why is this darkness here though? I never called upon darkness!"

A strange beam of purple light shot from the sky and collided with the chest of Ansem, and he vanished in a green light, disappearing into a bunch of zeroes and ones. Where did that come from?

Landing in the spot Ansem the Wise once stood was a member of that _Organization _who donned a black coat with the hood up. In a deep voice he said, "Ah, and you must be Vanitas. I'd like to say hello."

"Who are you?" I asked rudely.

"I am of the Organization XIII," the mysterious man said. His voice didn't sound like the younger Xehanort's voice. It sounded sort of like Ansem's and Xemnas's, but it wasn't the two of them.

"Our Superior told us to capture you, unharmed," the man said. "So you'll be coming with me. I did not come all the way to Sora's frail heart…for nothing."

"I think I'm done with you freaks," I shouted at him over the roar of the rain. When I said that, the rain and wind and thunder and everything else seemed to halt in time.

"You're not done," the man replied. "If you refuse I have to use force."

"I said…" I muttered, holding my Void Gear towards the sky, and a bolt of lightning struck it. The Keyblade in my grasp changed its form…it now looked like two crossed Kingdom keys that formed a sharp blade I called the X-Blade, (pronounced _'__Key'_ or _'__Kye'_). "I'm _done _with you _freaks_!"

A dark beam of pure darkness shot out of the blade and towards the sky. A rip appeared in the black clouds, and inside was a swirling vortex of purple, black, red, and white that seemed to suck in all the clouds, making the sky partly clear again.

"You can't get away!" the man screamed at me.

"YAH!" the familiar voice I knew from the past screamed, and jumping out of the treehouse window was Ventus. He came down with his Keyblade and struck the man, but a Keyblade appeared in his hand and reflected Ven's strike.

"A Keyblade?" I asked, staring at the mysterious man's silver Keyblade. The suction of the opening in the sky seemed to suck me in as well. I rose off of the ground towards the unknown.

"_Vanitas_!" Ventus screamed, and jumped up at me, slashing at me. I kicked him in the face followed by the swipe of the Void Gear, and Ventus fell to the ground, a trickle of blood exiting a small wound in his cheek. "You can't get out of here!"

"Watch me, Ven!" I shouted back. Wow, he was actually awake for a change. I looked down and saw the man in black vanish into a corridor of darkness. I looked up and saw my own method of transportation. I entered the rip in the sky, and all went white.

I wasn't sure what had happened. First, in a Heart of Light, darkness had appeared. The man in black wanted me for something. And…my Void Gear was replaced by the X-Blade. It should've been shattered. Why was it in my possession?

And now, I wasn't sure where I was. But one thing was for sure…I could go against Xehanort at long last. I have escaped my prison that Xehanort practically forced upon me. And now was my time for revenge.

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**(A/N) Now, Vanitas has finally escaped Sora's heart. What happens next? -How did you like this chapter? REVIEW PLEASE! Also, when Vanitas was dreaming about Young Xehanort and Young Eraqus, this was from the teaser trailer of KHIII. Check it on YouTube if you haven't seen it.**


	3. Lurking Shadows of a Distant Memory

**Lurking Shadows of a Distant Memory**

Darkness. There was only darkness. I walked for quite a while, unsure of where exactly I was in. The portal I had jumped through led me to this mysterious realm. A realm with a never-ending black sky and a stone walkway that hung over an abyss of darkness and misery.

I could hear screams that didn't even sound human coming from the dark depths below me. As I kept walking, in nothing but a pair of shorts—my usual beach attire—I couldn't help but feeling the chills of the icy cold breaths of darkness that escaped the air all around me.

Most would've thought that this world was Hell; a pit of misery to rot in for all eternity. But what I saw was different. If utilized correctly I could actually become ruler of this petty land; that is, if nobody else ruled. Then again, I might as well take it for myself anyway.

The Realm of Darkness. A mysterious realm that birthed all the Heartless. Before earlier, I hadn't seen an actual Heartless before, but Xehanort had once made me study up on all of the pureblood Heartless that were spewed straight from this realm.

I kept walking, and the stone pathway led to a wide open and baron field of purple and black rocks, stones, and boulders. Oozing out of some sections of the ground was a purple and black goo of some sort that could've eaten away at your hand if you touched it.

I kept walking towards the end of the narrow path that was over the abyss, when something tensed up in my body. The feeling of darkness in the pit of my stomach I had felt before in my dreams. It was weird…I could sense the Heartless. When I looked to either side of me, out of the abyss came out four Darkside Heartless.

On my left two rose from the depths, and from my right two more. Without warning, darkness rose up in tendrils over my body, eclipsing my entire being in darkness. When the darkness lifted, I was wearing my suit I had always had, and the X-Blade was in my hand.

Darkness shot from the sky and landed on the tip of the mighty Keyblade, and four separate beams of purple darkness nearly exploded out of the blade and to the separate Darksides, and the four Heartless had vanished into a liquidy black vapor.

"Wow, what a day…" I muttered to myself. I finally had reached the end of the narrow path, landing onto actual solid ground that _wasn't_ hanging over an abyss that you could fall into and keep falling for an eternity.

I had decided to keep walking. That seemed to be the only source of entertainment besides murdering Heartless. _Walking_. I could have walked further, but I heard the familiar sound of waves lapping against a shore.

I looked up and saw myself on a dark beach, dark waves lapping against the shoreline and the bright luminescent moon over the horizon. A couple of large rocks stood at the edge of the beach, the water bouncing off of them.

Sitting on top of one of the rocks was a blue haired woman that looked somewhat familiar to me. Then I knew. Though I could only see the back of her head, I knew very well that this was Aqua, one of Ventus's friends whom he trained with and tried to defeat me with.

I started creeping up towards her, but she merely chuckled and said, without looking at me, "A beautiful place for such a desolate wasteland, right?" I arched an eyebrow at her. Surely she was able to sense my darkness…right? "No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within."

I began chuckling, and she turned her head towards me, her sparkling blue eyes glittering in the darkness. Her expression soon turned grim, and she hopped off of the boulder and her Keyblade, appeared in her hand. No…it was Master Eraqus's Keyblade, the Master Keeper. How'd she get that?

"My mind must be playing tricks," she said, trying to convince herself against my existence. "That suit…looks like the one Vanitas has worn. Those golden eyes…the ones Xehanort has. Who are you?"

That's right! Aqua, the poor thing, has never seen me without my mask. As I recalled, she was knocked out when I showed my face to Ventus. So she couldn't tell who I was.

"Ah, but we did meet, precious Aqua," I said mockingly, stepping towards her as she slowly backed away. "I _am _Vanitas, fresh from the heart that I had to call my home after the merging of Ventus and I. Remember? Oh wait, you don't, since I had completely knocked you out."

"Vanitas!" Aqua yelled defensively, finally accepting the truth. "Give Ven his heart back!"

This idiotic girl made me sick. What was with her attitude? "No '_Hello'_? No '_How's it going, Vanitas_'? Talk about a warm welcoming."

"How are you here?" Aqua asked me. As if I should know. "Did the heart you were in get taken by the darkness?"

"No," I replied. "Oh, Ventus says hi. Tch, yeah right. He's been asleep within the heart for more than ten years. Well, up until a little while ago. You know, if you were a good friend, you'd actually be there for him. Instead you're here rotting away for god knows how much longer."

"Shut up!" she yelled at me, running my way and swinging her Master Keeper at me. I simply dodged it, the X-Blade appearing in my hand, and swung it at Aqua, who barely dodged it herself. The blade sliced through her chest and a little blood trickled out. "Is that…?"

"That legendary blade," I yelled at the sky. "With this I have escaped from Sora's heart for good! I can now take on Xehanort!"

"Wait…" Aqua muttered, and a single tear trickled out of her eye as she clutched the small wound in her chest. "Sora's heart?" She fell onto her knees. "The savior of worlds, two times in a row. It keeps coming back to that boy…I met."

"Yeah, when Ventus and I clashed and merged for good, Ventus's heart found Sora," I elaborated for the simpleminded girl. "Once inside his heart, Ven and I split apart. We've been there for more than ten years, darling. But do you know where the real Ventus is? I mean…Ven's body."

"I do," Aqua smiled. "But it's locked away within my memory. I can't remember. That was the curse. Until I escape here and find that _castle _again, I won't remember the room he's in. You interrogation won't work, Vanitas."

"Got it," I replied, smiling at the girl who started to shed more than just a tear. This girl was so completely stupid for crying over a stupid boy like Ventus. I guess I have the _stupid _Light to thank for that. Speaking of stupid boys… "Tell me, what has happened since the merging of Ven and I? Where's Terra? Or Xehanort?"

"Probably wandering the world, looking for his missing memories," the girl replied with a sad smile. "Last I saw of him, I had to pull him out of the darkness Xehanort had taken hold of him with. Wait…Xehanort. Terra and Xehanort are together!"

A low growl rumbled throughout the beach, but Aqua seemed unable to locate where it came from as shown from her eyes that were scanning the area.

I tried to sense it as well. The dark pit in my stomach kept appearing and reappearing.

"What was that?" The most stupidest question I've ever heard myself say. It had to be a Heartless. There are no other inhabitants here except for Aqua and I…right? "A Heartless, I'm guessing?"

"Right," Aqua mumbled to herself. "I've lived in this realm long enough to remember every Heartless by their battle cry. And this one…sounds familiar. Why can't I place it?"

"While you try to figure it out," I told her, "I'll be actually trying to kill this Heartless."

"They keep coming back," Aqua told me angrily. "The Heartless can't be killed within the Realm of Darkness! They just keep appearing every day!"

I realized how much Aqua has been doing in the past ten years or more. If all of the Heartless came back after they _died_, then Aqua has been fighting every day.

"I can escape the Heartless though," she said with a small smile. "They hardly come on this beach. This is the one place the Heartless never dare come. It's the border between the Realm of Darkness and the Realm Between."

"The border?" I asked. The border must've been a way out of here. Then I can head to the Keyblade Graveyard and try to find Xehanort. I just had to make sure Aqua stays here because she'll try to do the _right_ thing, like finding Terra.

Another growl was heard throughout the realm. "It's just pacing around the perimeter of the beach," Aqua answered the question that was on my mind. "He won't pass the border between the rest of the Realm of Darkness, and this beach."

"Really…" I muttered, but the growl became more menacing sounding and a large shadow leaped over our shadows. "I thought you said it couldn't get through!" The shadow landed behind Aqua, who whipped around and jumped back, inching closer to me.

It has a dark purple and black body with dark magenta spikes running down its back, as well as a "mane" of dark magenta tentacles around its head. Its tail has a dark magenta tip and it sports four purple claws on each of its four legs. On all fours and with that wicked and jagged mouth that was twisted into a creepy grin, his back legs sporting chains on the beast's ankles.

"This is an undiscovered Heartless," I realized. I knew the names of most of the pureblood Heartless, but this creature was a blank.

"This thing again!?" Aqua yelled out. She had obviously fought this thing before. "The Unnamed Heartless, a being that the Master Keeper has been unable to detect the name of."

"So that Keyblade can detect a Heartless's name?" I asked. Interesting. I leapt at the Unnamed Heartless with the X-Blade outstretched, slashing it through the air as I cut through the beast's body, black flood flying out of a small wound in its arm.

It jumped away from me and disappeared into the shadows beyond the beach. I looked behind me and saw it's red eyes glowing from the darkness ahead. Immediately it started dashing back towards us, its red eyes glinting in the darkness.

It rushed passed me, and I saw it was nothing but a shadowy beast now. No color, save for its eyes.

Aqua jumped away from a slash at her feet, jumping closer to me until we were back-to-back. Aqua lifted the Master Keeper into the air, unable to locate the shadowy beast, and she yelled out, "Crystalize!"

A sphere of purple and pink colored hexagons appeared around an invisible source, and the invisibility became shadows and the shadows became the beast in its true form.

"Shatter!" Aqua yelled, and the force field that crystalized around the Unnamed Heartless shattered immediately like glass, temporarily stunning the Heartless.

I ran towards the best, held out my hand and yelled, "Aurasphere!" A dark purple ball of fire appeared in my hand and blasted towards the massive Heartless, colliding with the beast and causing it to fall down completely.

"Light!" Aqua said almost immediately after the creature fell down, and a beam of light shot from the Master Keeper and homed in on the Unnamed Heartless, sending the Heartless flying into the dark waters and dissolving into multiple shadows, each shadow darting off into different directions.

"I've never gotten rid of it so quickly before," she muttered under her breath, just enough for me to hear it.

"So where are my thanks?"

"I'll thank you when you bring Ven's body to me," she scoffed. "And apologize for trying to kill me and for forcefully merging with Ventus."

It was stupid to think I'd _ever _apologize for something Xehanort had made me do. I heard footsteps, and instinctively turned around to see a man in black hooded cloak, just like the _Organization_.

"Stop following me!" I yelled at the man, and Aqua defensively jumped in front of the man with her arms outstretched.

"What is the matter, young one?" the man said in a familiar voice.

"…Wait…Ansem the Wise?" I asked him.

"I cannot remember my name nor my reason for existence, as it is all but a distant memory, but I do know what's happened to the worlds and who saved them," the man replied. This guy couldn't remember anything…I got it! His data really was in Sora's heart. To give us a message of some sort that the real Ansem could not carry on. "Aqua, I'd like to show you one of my new discoveries. This boy can come as well."

Aqua tried to protest, but Ansem said, "Quiet, Aqua, we mustn't disturb anything. If he is here, he is meant to see what I mean to show you."

And so I followed Little Miss Tragic and this old man towards the unknown. We left the beach and kept walking even further. Before long, or maybe it was a long time since I couldn't tell time here, we had found our destination.

It looked like a gigantic battleship of some kind that had darkness swirling around it. The front of the battleship had a figurehead of some kind that looked like a disfigured face. It's eyes were closed but its mouth was in a sinister snarl. There was just enough room in the opening of its mouth that you can actually fit into.

"Where are we?" I asked, the same thing Aqua was about to ask herself.

Ansem looked over it a few times. "Though I cannot remember ever seeing this beautiful monstrosity, but a name does come to mind."

"What name is it called?" Aqua asked, still stunned at the large ship-creature thing.

"The World of Chaos."

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**(A/N) This Unnamed Heartless is supposed to be the Heartless that Aqua fights in the Realm of Darkness during Birth by Sleep Final Mix. Now, can anyone remember what the World of Chaos is, if you've studied up on Kingdom Hearts? PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. World of Chaos

**World of Chaos**

"World of Chaos," Ansem had said. It didn't look to much like a world than it did a battleship, but I guess it's still just a name. "A powerful entity that used to be a living, breathing Heartless. For some reason, it's life source is no longer there, rendering the ship useless. Something tells me this was used for very dark purposes."

"Can we go inside it?" Aqua had asked, clutching something shining a blue color in her hand. Her _Wayfinder._ She had made one for her, one for Terra, and another for Ven to ensure that they never be apart. What a load of bull.

"My guess is that we can," I replied before Ansem could. "But if you're afraid of the dark, I wouldn't recommend it."

Aqua scowled at me. I had struck a nerve.

Not long after our long gaze at the World of Chaos, darkness started swirling around it at a faster pace, tiny Shadows spawning from the black tornado surrounding the ship.

"Every light must fade!" a menacing voice shouted from within the tornado. "Every heart return to darkness!" The tornado vanished into a dark vapor, and floating in the air above the World of Chaos was a man in a black cloak. When he spoke, it was the voice of…Ansem. It was then that I realized; Ansem the Wise, and this black hooded Ansem had the same name. Coincidence?

His hood flew off of his head in the wind surrounding him. His face was tanned like he spent his time in the sun every day, his eyes an amber-orange, his silver hair slicked back on top and long in the back.

Something seemed off about him. He reminded me slightly of Terra, even though he didn't exactly wear Terra's face as I remembered it. But he appeared to have almost the same aura as Terra.

"Who are you?" Aqua asked, making me want to slap her for asking stupid questions. "What do you want?"

"It is I, Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness," the _Organization_ member said in his deep voice. "Let the darkness swallow you whole. The abyss of endless darkness and misery awaits you!"

"Ansem?" Aqua asked.

Ansem the Wise stayed silent, until he muttered a name. "_Xehanort_. This darkness…can only belong to _Xehanort_. The darkness of Xehanort's heart. This…is _Xehanort's Heartless_."

"My name… is Ansem!" Xehanort's Heartless yelled, an extremely long double-edged sword appearing in his hand. He held it up in the air, twirling it around in his fingers. "Vanitas…the Organization XIII needs you!"

Aqua looked at me with questioning eyes. I looked to her and said, "Get out of here. I have a score to settle." I turned back towards Xehanort's Heartless. "Lead me to _Xehanort_! The real _Xehanort_! Not any of you _fakes_! Master Xehanort!"

"You'll see him soon enough," Xehanort's Heartless replied. "We have much to discuss, Vanitas. No matter how many times you face us, we will never leave you alone. Now sink into the endless abyss of darkness, where all hearts lie. Even yours. You belong to us. To darkness. Darkness rules all. Darkness conquers _all _worlds!"

Black mist escaped from the back of Xehanort's Heartless, and Xehanort's Heartless yelled, "Come Guardian!"

The Guardian has an ink-black, muscular, humanoid form with a partially bandaged head that hosts relatively human features, bearing some resemblance to Master Xehanort. It has yellow eyes gleaming above a mouth filled with sharp teeth, as well as two long antennae spouting from the top of its head.

It's body was rather large, and it ended in a shadowy tail that was what connected it to the back of Xehanort's Heartless, binding them together.

A dark wave of power circled around Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and his Guardian, that nearly knocked me off my feet, as well as sending Aqua flying into a black boulder behind her, knocking her out in an instant.

I braced for the impact of the dark wave of energy, and I saw Ansem the Wise doing the same. The Guardian disappeared from behind Xehanort's Heartless and reappeared out of the ground in front of Ansem the Wise.

Xehanort's Guardian grabbed both of Ansem the Wise's arms in his meaty hands, lifting the older man into the air with ease.

"Xehanort, stop this!" Ansem the Wise yelled out.

"My name is _Ansem_!" While Guardian held Ansem the Wise in place, Xehanort's Heartless flew forward with his long dual-sword and jabbed it straight through the other man's chest. He retracted his long sword, and Guardian let Ansem the Wise go, the man falling to the ground.

The Guardian vanished and reappeared behind Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. "I did not want to hurt the man further, but he gave me no choice. I am Ansem, _not _him!" This other Ansem showed some real rage I hadn't seen before. "The Darkness will destroy the old fool's heart! If you don't want me to kill the man, follow me into the World of Chaos."

The mouth on the figurehead opened all of the way, revealing a swirling pink and purple portal within, possibly leading to somewhere in the interior of the ship.

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness flew backwards into the mouth of the World of Chaos, vanishing along with Guardian. In order to find Xehanort, the _real _one, I had to follow this _fake _Xehanort. So I ran to the World of Chaos and jumped into the mouth, leaving a knocked out Aqua and a bleeding Ansem the Wise behind.

Through the portal I went, and before me was a spectral of colors that I had never seen before. And then it all became black. I felt a soft earthy substance under my feet. Along the walls, lines of a florescent blue started glowing brightly.

Along the walls on either side of me, the lines of bright blue intertwined and tangled and spread out throughout the entire cave I was in.

At the end of the long corridor, on the very back wall, a shiny red and black heart glittered on the wall. _The Heartless symbol_.

I stepped forward, and with each step my feet sunk a centimeter within the earthy ground like it was mud. It was completely dark with the exception of the blue lines and the red heart at the end.

I then noticed, that with every step, I felt more movement along my feet and legs. I looked down, and called upon the X-Blade to appear in my hand. The light of the blue lines reflected off of the shiny X-Blade, and sent a light onto the ground. The entire ground was not even a ground.

I was stepping through hordes of Shadow Heartless, the ground beneath me nonexistent. I stepped on Shadows' heads, and the many Shadows surrounding me grabbed onto my legs.

I was in pure hell. But did this scare me? Yeah, right. You can't scare the embodiment of negativity. There was no way this Ansem, Seeker of Darkness was gonna even freak me out in the slightest.

I kept walking until I was waste deep in Heartless, and half-way to the red heart on the back wall.

"Ansem, show yourself!" I yelled out.

"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little." Xehanort's Heartless's voice rang out through the cave, echoing off of the walls.

Purple darkness started swirling a few feet away from me, and Ansem's figure started appearing in the air along with his Guardian.

"All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it; it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came!" He fully materialized, and he held a hand out at me. "You see, darkness is the heart's true essence." Xehanort's Heartless clutched his fist.

"Take me to Master Xehanort!" I yelled out, my rage boiling over as darkness started swirling around me. "Now!"

"But you feel it, don't you? You're undying loyalty. This world, this nightmare, this abyss. Why haven't you returned to the reality whence you came?"

"You mean that life of torture I spent working under Xehanort? No thanks."

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness smirked and held out his other hand. "Then it's time to make you see. That the darkness will overtake you, forever and always!"

I started sinking into the Heartless flood underneath me at a rapid pace. Soon enough, the Heartless were above my shoulders and standing on my head.

I blinked a few times, trying to understand what I did wrong. I couldn't have lost so easily. It was impossible. I was strong! What happened to my strength? Where had it gone in the past ten years?

Every ounce of light vanished from my vision, and the X-Blade vanished into the darkness.

I looked up, the Heartless now completely over my head. I couldn't see any sign of ground below me. Where was I going? Was this what hell felt like? _Was _this Hell? Was I dying now?

Every ounce of my strength had faded away. The Heartless of Xehanort had won. Was I never to see my old master again?

_XEHANORT!_

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**(A/N) Did you like this chapter? PLEASE REVIEW! This chapter was fun to write because I was able to tap into Xehanort's Heartless a little bit this early in the story. He definitely needed more love. But where is Vanitas now? FIND OUT NEXT CHAPTER! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Capture of Target Thirteen

**Capture of Target Thirteen**

"Target Thirteen has been captured," a fuzzy voice mumbled somewhere near me. I tried opening my eyes, but whenever I did, the light of the sun ahead seemed to burn them. Wait. Sun?

I opened one eye, squinting in the sunlight. I stood on a desert ground. The _Badlands_. That's where I was. How'd I escape from the Realm of Darkness? Wait…did I even escape? No, that Heartless…Xehanort's Heartless had sent me into the darkness.

"Good job, Ansem," the voice of Xemnas responded, who I saw was towering over me. I opened both eyes finally, and saw that I was on the ground in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, my hands locked in tight handcuffs. The cuffs were linked together by beams of electricity, not the metal or steel of normal handcuffs. "Vanitas is ours."

"Go to hell," I muttered without quite realizing what was going on around me, my eyes looking lazily around me and trying to adjust to the harsh desert sun. "The Badlands, eh?"

"He's awake," Xemnas replied, kneeling down beside me and putting a hand on my head, soon grabbing a fist full of hair. "He said this one'd be a fighter. I can't quite remember how Vanitas is, to be honest. But let's skip the theatrics. I am _Xehanort_."

"Not the real one," I muttered, and a voice laughed hysterically behind me. The voice of Braig.

"Ooh, can little Nega Boy tell who you really are, Xemy?" Braig asked between laughs, and he stepped in front of me, pretending to wipe a tear of happiness and laughter from his eye. I glared at him. "Oh man, seriously, can there be one Keybearer who _doesn't _give me the look as if I drowned their goldfish?"

I tried sitting on my knees, but I fell back down on my face like an idiot. I was only amusing Braig who couldn't control his laughter. "Is this who the old coot really wanted to keep? Some washed up Negative Boy who probably hasn't fought in ten years."

Yep, these guys were going to hell now. I decided to take the offensive and yelled, "_Xehanort, where are you_!?"

"You see, there's a problem with that," Braig answered quickly. "Ansem here, he's Xehanort. Xemnas here, he's Xehanort. Me? I'm half Xehanort. Confusing, I know. Don't remember me too well? Oh yeah, I'm the guy that Xehanort replaced you with. The cooler guy."

He raised his hood off of his head, letting it fall down behind him. I saw his long ponytailed brown, black, and silver hair as well as his golden eyes and that scar on his face that _Terra _had given him.

"What do you want with me?" I asked.

"That is of no importance at the moment," a raspy voice said, and Isa walked through a corridor of darkness and stepped in front of me.

His hood was down, showing his long blue hair that was rather messy on top, went down his back and a little going inside his cloak. There was an _X_ shaped scar in the center of his face and, of course, his eyes were Xehanort's golden.

Isa spoke again. "Lord Xemnas, Castle Oblivion is secure. _Numbers VI and X_ are stationed there as we speak. Are we ready to secure the prisoner there?"

"Yes, Isa," Xemnas replied quietly. "Vanitas is to stay there until Xehanort arrives. If he gives you any trouble, use force." He kneeled down to me again and whispered in my ear, "That means you cannot under any circumstances cause trouble."

"Can you tell me who you guys are though?" I asked rudely, trying to shake my head violently to get the sand and dirt out of it.

"The True Organization XIII," Xemnas replied. "There was once an original Organization, but we learned not all of our candidates were fit for the task. Except for a few of us." He looked to Braig and Isa. "We managed to make up the difference by creating a newer team of elite Seekers of Darkness. It is all as Xehanort envisions." He cleared his throat and looked at Isa. "Isa, Number VII, take Vanitas to Castle Oblivion."

Isa held his hand out in front of him, a dark corridor of darkness appearing to the side of me. He grabbed hold of my arms, yanked me up, and pushed me into the darkness. He walked closely behind me into the darkness.

I knew how traveling the Corridors felt. And frankly, it was an amazing feeling. But try being on your knees against your will while handcuffed and inside a Corridor.

I felt the darkness lash out at me in a flurry of wind. Some of the darkness cut through my skin. With each cut, it drew blood. My dark suit was what protected me. These dark cloaks are what protects the Organization. But I had nothing to protect me at all.

Then the feeling ceased, and I stood on my knees in front of a large castle that was brownish with green pointed rooftops. This castle wasn't very proportional or symmetrical, and it almost reminded me of somewhere, though I couldn't exactly remember.

I also felt a tugging at my gut. Not a feeling of darkness this time. I felt a warm sensation filling the pit of my stomach and my lungs, and my wounds automatically healed. Even Isa looked genially surprised to see the cuts close up on their own and the blood disappearing.

"We're here," Isa said, even though it was _plainly_ obvious. And then he kinda jabbed his fingers into the back of my neck, and I felt lifeless.

When I finally had woken up and registered my surroundings, it was too late. I was handcuffed to a white wall, my wrists in chains and the chains connecting to the wall. The chains hurt like hell, and I could now see the red marks of blood they left from being wrapped around my arms. I noticed the same chains around my ankles as well.

I looked ahead and saw that the whole room I was in was white, and a glass ball stood on a pedestal in the center of the room, and a lone chair sat at the corner of the room.

I saw Isa looking at me with distasteful eyes and vanished into a Corridor of Darkness. I was now a prisoner. Could you believe that? How does one like me get captured so easily? And how'd those Heartless overwhelm me back in the Realm of Darkness?

I wondered what had happened to Aqua and Ansem the Wise. Were they alright? Oh, yeah, that's right. I don't care.

The door at the entrance of the room opened up, and standing there was a medium sized Organization member in the black hooded cloak. He looked short enough to be nothing but a teenager.

"Hey, kid!" I yelled at him, but he seemed unimpressed. "This is grownup work, but hey, the park is that way!"

"You find yourself amusing?" he said in a teen's voice. I was right, he _was _young. Maybe around fifteen or sixteen. "I was stationed here to keep an eye on you. Who knew that I'd even step foot in this castle. A year and a half ago, I wouldn't dream of coming to _this_ place."

"Can you tell me who you are?" I asked. He was really pissing me off. He tried to avoid the fact that there was a person chained to this wall and attempted to tell me his life story. Great, just what I needed. "So what _is_ Castle Oblivion?"

"From what I've been told, this castle used to be a completely different castle in an actual world," the boy told me. "I think Xehanort called it…the Land of Departure?"

"You know all that?" I asked. "You're clearly not Xehanort, like the others clearly are."

"I'm in transition," the boy replied. "I had no choice. I was nothing more but a simple shadow anyway. I'm Number VI by the way."

"I don't care what number you are," I growled, squirming around and trying to break free of the chains. "What is your name? How are you related to Xehanort in any possible way? What do you mean _transition_?" I'd never asked this many questions or been this confused in my entire life.

"Transitioning into becoming Xeha—wait, why am I telling you this!?" he yelled, crossing his arms. "The only thing that confuses me is why do you look like that?"

_Excuse me_? Did he just insult me by saying why I _looklike this_? I had no reasons. I was born this way. I stuck my tongue out at him. "Kinda hard to look like anything else besides myself, kid."

"Liar," the boy replied quickly. "The one who you look like left this castle a year and a half ago. Except his hair is brown and his eyes are blue. Speaking of which, you have yellow eyes. _Golden_ eyes. Are you Xehanort already?"

"I give up," I muttered angrily, finally stopping my attempts to rip myself from the chains. "If I was Xehanort, I think I'd know, kid."

"I really wanna get Number X to kill you now, but Xemnas won't let," Number VI said, looking away towards outside of the doorway he stood in.

"Why don't you kill me now?" I said, toying with the boy's mind. "Are you a coward, little guy?"

Number VI stomped his foot down and snapped at me, "You are a coward. You're afraid of the dark! The darkness inside you scares you witless!" He put a hand over his face that was hidden in shadows behind the hood.

"I _am_ Darkness!" I yelled back, and darkness started to blast out of the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet. Number VI jumped back in surprise.

"Stop that!" he yelled at me. I felt a huge burst of energy within my body, and the familiar tug of darkness at my stomach. Now it seemed to hurt my heart and my chest. I strained myself and refrained from screaming in pain, but soon I had blacked out.

When my vision returned, I was standing on the beach of Destiny Islands…_Sora's Heart_. Ventus was in front of me smiling, and he said, "So you escaped Sora's Heart. Now what, Vanitas?"

Vanitas vanished in a flash of light while saying, "Can you defeat Xehanort? What will you do after that?"

I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was back in my room in Castle Oblivion, and the kid from before sat on the chair in the corner.

I was still chained to the wall. Of course. They'll never let me go. What do they even want with me?

Number VI was reading a book he had in his hands, flipping through the pages while he said, "Ah, you're awake. That was freaky. Could you not control the darkness?"

"What do you know about darkness?" I asked him, and he slammed his book down and started walking towards me. "What are you gonna do to me, huh?"

"I knew how to use the darkness since I was born," Number VI replied. The same with me; I also knew how to use it since Xehanort extracted me from Ventus. Weird…when I thought of Ventus, I immediately felt that warm glow in my body that I couldn't quite explain. "And Xehanort…well… _the _Xehanorts told me I couldn't hurt you. Target Thirteen is to not be harmed during his capture. We still need you alive."

"For what?" I asked back.

"You think they'd _tell_ me? According to them I'm a lesser member!" Number VI shouted at me. "And Isa's below me, yet _he _gets all of Xemnas's praise!"

"What about Xehanort?"

"I haven't even met the man," Number VI replied truthfully, hanging his head down. "We're still waiting for the old man to make his appearance. Until then you are to stay here."

"Xehanort can burn in hell," I growled under my breath, while shaking in the cold of the room, the cold air stinging my skin. "Now can you get me some clothes?"

"The only clothes you wear is what you call your _dark suit_," Number Vi replied. "Having that suit can grant you your strong dark abilities. Then you can escape."

"So what's a kid like you doing in Xehanort's _Organization_?"

"Just stay quiet," he snapped at me, a sword appearing in his hand. It has a red, purple and blue blade shaped like a demonic wing. Its handle bears a demonic blue eye with a black slit-shaped pupil in the center. He held the cold blade against my neck. "Maybe I can kill you and they can kick me outta this _stupid _Organization so I can be free."

"So they took you against your will?" I asked. "You're just like me then. I don't wanna be here."

"And I don't have a choice," Number VI said. "I _have _to keep you here. Well, me and my _temporary_ partner. Number X."

"I don't care," I told him. What was I gonna do now? I couldn't persuade this kid into helping me out. He wasn't as stupid as I thought. "So tell me…you must be the _loser_ of the Organization, am I right?"

"Shut up!" Number VI yelled, slashing his sword at me. What I did worked. I had struck a serious nerve. When he slashed it, I raised my arms and he cut straight through the metal chains. My arms were free. "Damn it!"

I began laughing as darkness spiraled up my arms and legs, and I now sat in my dark suit, the X-Blade in my hand, which I used to slice through the chains on my legs. The handcuffs melted off of my wrists and ankles from the black darkness that oozed from my body.

Number VI jumped backwards. I began walking towards him with a sinister smile. I was going to enjoy every minute of beating this boy to a pulp. Then maybe he can finally reveal where Xehanort is. Well, even if he didn't know much, he was still going talk.

"Who are you, now?" I asked, and ran to him with my X-Blade outstretched. I slashed it towards Number VI, and he swung his sword as well. Our weapons clashed, and a flurry of darkness escaped from our weapons and bodies, causing my hair to whip around wildly. Then the boy's hood flew off.

He had silvery hair just above his shoulders, and angered aquamarine eyes glared into mine. He spoke in an angry voice, "Just call me…Riku."

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**(A/N) Riku?! What could this mean? As you can see, I'm starting to reveal all of the other True Organization XIII members of my choice. Stay tuned next chapter! REVIEW!~**


	6. Replicated Heart

**Replicated Heart**

So his name was Riku. I didn't know why, but this guy, after seeing his face, no longer felt _human_. Normally when I'm around a human I can feel at least one spark of life. Even in Xehanort there was _some_ tiny shard of light in the back of his cold heart. Even from here I can _still _feel Ven's eternal light. But this person here didn't have much light in him.

Now the second thing I should point out. The demonic blue eye on that sword of his. It mirrored the blue eye that was on Xehanort's Keyblade, as well as my Void Gear. The Eye of Darkness. How'd he even get something like that? Was it a _Xehanort_ trait? Does anyone connected to the old man have a Keyblade with that eye on it?

"You don't have an ounce of light in you, do you?" I asked him, as we drew back our Keyblades.

Riku looked into my eyes and said, "Does a shadow really need the light? There's no light in a false heart. I belong to the darkness. But I guess you knew that already considering I'm with the Organization."

"Is that what you want?" I asked him. "Because if not, I can guarantee your freedom if you help me find Xehanort."

"Tempting," Riku replied. "But since I apparently I have no humanity, I don't care what you want or what I want. I don't want anything." He crossed his arms. "I do however want to stay alive, and the only way to do that is to keep you here. Or else Xemnas will flat out stab me with those red rods, or whatever they are."

"Okay, you're not helping too much," I snapped at him. "Let's see if I got this straight. You're park of an _Organization_ run by freakin' Xehanort, you're in transition of _becoming Xehanort_, and you're purpose now is to keep a watchful eye on me or else Xemnas, one of Xehanort's _lackeys _will _kill_ you? Is that right?"

Riku nodded, and turned his back to me. "Anyway, I can't be talking to you. _Number X_ will have my head. He takes this job very seriously."

"He does…" I mumbled.

This small talk was getting me closer. I was getting no closer to Xehanort than Riku was getting to saneness. Sometimes I hate people with hearts. People with light. But this person had an artificial heart. And a heart filled with darkness. Though he had an actual personality, which doesn't normally come with the package of being a completely dark hearted being.

What was even more frustrating was that this person was just a teenager. A _kid_. I know my age, or at least the age I look like, isn't quite far off from his, but can Xehanort really stoop this low? Well, I'm not _too _surprised because of what he did to Ven in the past.

I pointed my X-Blade to Riku, and an orb of purple darkness surrounded the tip of the blade. Riku nearly jumped at this, yelling, "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Does it surprise you that I wanna get rid of you as much as I wanna find Xehanort?" I said in my usual cocky tone. "If it does, get a rain check. Because once I'm through with you, you'll be begging on your knees for Xehanort to be here." A purple beam of darkness shot from the tip of my Blade, and Riku deflected it with his sword. "Also, what _do_ you call that thing?"

"Soul Eater," Riku said quickly, the two of us holing eye contact. He ran to me, swiping his Soul Eater through the air. I was quicker. In a flash of darkness I seemed to zip from right in front of him to directly behind him, and I slashed the X-Blade at Riku's back, and he immediately drew blood. He backed away, growling to himself.

"This is getting us nowhere," Riku called to me. "This dark, replicated heart is not going to hurt you, I see. Xehanort picked a perfect soul mate."

"What does that mean?" I asked, defensively. Did he just try to…consider Xehanort and I an _item_? I'm not one for strong emotions, but I've been around Roxas, Xion, and Naminé enough to know a lot about romance. What was this kid playing at?

"Oh, yeah, I hear that Xehanort created you in order to fill his loneliness," Riku laughed. "I know a lot about this stuff." He walked over to his chair and lifted up the book he was reading. "It's called yaoi, and—"

"Oh my god, you are in _such_ trouble now!" I yelled at him, running to him and slashing my X-Blade. But the minute the blade hit his skin, he vanished into a corridor of darkness and reappeared right behind me in under a second. "Wha—?"

Before I had time to turn around, I felt the cold sharpness of a metal blade sink into my skin. The feeling's not as you normally expect. You expect to be hurting at first and to be bleeding out. But it doesn't _start _bleeding until after you move the sword out of the wound.

He had gotten me. How clever of him.

"I knew you'd fall for that," Riku laughed. "By making you angered by pestering you with all this yaoi stuff and the things about Xehanort…I really fooled you."

"Okay, okay, one, get this blade outta my back; I don't bleed," I yelled at him, and I felt the cold blade slide out of my back like my back was water. "Two, well played, kid. And three…what's happening?"

Without warning Riku's wind whipped around in a nonexistent wind, and dark tendrils started rising up his arms and legs. He raised his hands into the air and blasts of darkness escaped his fists and the slammed against the ceiling, causing the entire room to shake.

Riku was shaking now, nearly falling onto a knee as darkness swirled around him. "It's finally happening!" Riku yelled, his concerned frown turning into a wicked smile none would ever see on a fifteen year old boy. "I am _XEHANORT_!"

It all seemed to happen so fast. Throughout Riku's silvery hair were streaks of white. His aquamarine eyes melted to Xehanort's golden color. This Riku guy just didn't look natural with golden eyes. What was even with that?

He looked at me through those evil and demonic eyes…eyes that reminded me so much of Xehanort that I wanted to ring this little guy's neck.

"Stronger," Riku muttered. "Already stronger…" He was clearly out of breath, panting as he clutched his knees, bending over to catch a breath. "The last step into becoming part Xehanort…is to fully utilize the dark powers inside of you. I have, after fighting you. Now…"

Darkness exited the ground at Riku's feet and swirled around his Soul Eater, and when the darkness vanished the sword looked longer, the wing was now straight, and it resembled more of a Keyblade now.

"Way to the Dawn…" Riku muttered. "A Keyblade that belongs to the _real _Riku…no, I have to…let go of him." He held the Keyblade up into the air, and the wing became more demonic, and the demonic blue eye in the center of the blade was now a bright red. "No…it is now… Path of Darkness!"

This wasn't good. His entire demeanor was changed because of one extra heart within him that didn't belong. As heartless as I may be, it pained me to see him like this.

Ha, yeah right. Like I have emotions. I wasn't created to _feel_.

"You said replicated heart earlier," I noticed, pointing it out to Riku. "So you're just a replica of someone _real _named Riku? So…Riku's replica? Hm, I'll call you Repliku."

The newly named Repliku just frowned at me and hung his head down. "Just what I need. Not like I've heard _that _one before. That's Xigbar's pet name for me. Depressing, isn't it? Anyway…why is it you're really here? To wait for Xehanort so he can—"

As if fate planned for me _not _to know the truth, a warm feeling tugged at my gut and I could've sworn that I saw Ventus's smiling, idiotic grin as he ran through the many worlds to save Terra from Xehanort's inevitable clutches.

His face clouded my mind. Why was I seeing him now? Light almost flooded my vision, escaping my body and my mind. It came into my reality. Repliku didn't seemed phased until he saw me fall to the ground, my head hitting the ground as this unwelcome light took over my very essence. My darkness had seen the light.

_"__I've become a part their heart, just as they've become a part of mine. My friends are my power... and I'm theirs!_"

I then snapped back to reality and looked towards the ceiling. I felt a presence inside of me. It's like Ven's heart had taken refuge in my body for that short period of time. But I felt another presence…one on the _outside_ of the my mind and body.

I smirked for a reason, and as if against my will, the name "Ventus" escaped my lips, and Repliku looked shocked. Had he heard the name before?

"Ven?" I asked myself. "He's here…in this castle. His light is overwhelming." My head snapped to Repliku, and he just smirked, crossing his arms behind his back. "You! You know where Ventus is, right?"

Repliku just laughed and said, "This replicated heart does not have time for your stupid fantasies. From now on, I'm calling the shots."

In a swift movement, he was gone and I felt a tingling sensation all over my body. The blade of his Path of Darkness Keyblade sunk into my stomach and straight through my back. Of course, no blood escaped my body. Just swirling darkness curling out from underneath the blade that was sticking outside of the front and back of my body.

Repliku stood directly in front of me, his mouth next to my ear, his hand holding the weapon that sliced straight through my body.

One thing I failed to mention as well. As long as the Path of Darkness was ripping into my chest and out my back, I felt a burning sensation as if I was on fire.

I felt to the ground, and Repliku let go of his weapon and let it sit inside of me. I grabbed hold of it and yanked it out, and when I did, black ooze squirted out of my wounds. _Blood_? The blood of darkness?

"Don't kill him," a voice said out of nowhere. It had a bit of an accent to it as well.

"I know that!" Repliku yelled at the ceiling, and ran to the door of the room. "Okay, Vanitas, I win." He held out his arm, and the Path of Darkness vanished from the puddle of black blood and reappeared in his hand, and then it vanished. "Being Xehanort is _so_ fun but _so _much work. Anyway, I have someone even _lower _than me and Saix to get to so he could boss me around."

"And who's that?"

"I'm not telling," Repliku laughed, and disappeared as he closed the door behind him. I punched the ground, and the warm light that overflowed within me healed me. My blood vanished and the slits in my chest and back vanished.

I waltzed over to the door and jiggled the doorknob, and the door opened easily. For a near Xehanort clone, Repliku wasn't all that smart. He'd forgotten to lock me in. I would've busted the door down anyway, but at least he could have the decency to lock the door and give me a _challenge_.

I walked out of the door, and saw a staircase just up ahead. I was going to find Repliku and this _Number X _who appeared to be calling the shots here. And most importantly, I was going to find Ven.

Ventus, I'm on my way. I'll find where you are.

I just know he's here.

He has to be.

Ven.

.

**(A/N) Three new revelations! Repliku is a member and is now a Xehanort. Also, there is also this Number X who seems to be calling the shots here. And lastly...Ven was in the castle. Of course. STAY TUNED TO SEE WHO NUMBER X IS!**


	7. Heart of the Cards

**Heart of the Cards**

Who ever heard of a castle in which the entire interior was _just_ white? Nearly all the rooms were plain, with just a few pedestals lining the walls of each room and a door or a staircase leading to the next room. I must've climbed up the castle forever before I came across anything.

The room I was in now looked about the same, though there were simple cards scattering all across the floor. I dove to the ground to pick them up. There were quite a few of them. On each card was a face of someone. Some I recognized, some I didn't quite know.

One of them was Sora. They were right. He _did_ look just like me. He was my doppelgänger. On another card was Riku. The _real _Riku. Not this Number VI Repliku. Next was a girl with red hair that resembled Naminé a whole lot. This must be the _Kairi _I've heard a lot about.

I then saw Nami and Xion. I looked at another three cards…and each had Ven, Aqua, and Terra, respectively. Another card had a spikey red haired man in an _Organization's _uniform which I didn't recognize. Another card had Mickey Mouse on it. That mouse that had teamed up with Aqua. The final card I saw was myself.

I noticed something especially odd about three of these cards though. The ones with the faces of Ventus, Aqua, and I had a red circle round us, as if we were the Organization's main targets.

"Ah, you found the stash," the voice of _Number X_ rang out through the room, in his trademark accent that I couldn't place. A corridor of darkness appeared before me, and a man in a hood walked out of it. A card was in between his index finger and his middle finger. "As you can see, within each of these cards is each of our previous and current targets."

"So you're _Number X_?" I asked rudely at him, and he just chuckled.

"Certainly that's not _all _you have to ask, Vanitas," Number X replied without answering me. "But if you must know, I _am _Number X. Quite a veteran to the Organization, you can say, despite my lower rank."

"Veteran?"

"Precisely," he said, and then walked towards me and took the card of my face from my hand. "This castle used to be run by a traitor, _Number XI_ in the original Organization. He has not returned to the Organization. I have." He lowered his hood, and I saw blue eyes and short platinum blond hair with facial hair that was a small connected goatee and mustache. "My name was once Luxord, but call me…Dulor."

"Well, _Dulor_, I was just wondering…you _are_ the one calling the shots, right?" I asked, curious. "The one Number VI _has _to listen to?"

"Exactly," he said, putting a hand under his chin. "So now you have to go through me if you want to escape. And as soon as you escape, there'll be nowhere to hide. We'll be coming for you."

"Screw you," I said, scratching the back of my head, showing my utter boredom.

"Okay, then, let's play a game," Dulor said. A partially smiled. What kind of game was this guy planning? "A game over life and death. A true test of skills…and luck. A game of _Blackjack._ Rules are simple. I deal you two cards. One facing up. One facing down. Check the down card. None of us know each other's facedown card. If the sum of your cards equal twenty-one, you win. If you don't have enough, ask for another card and you shall receive. If you ever go _over _twenty-one, you fail."

"A card game?" Was he serious? I had to play a stupid _human _game with a lesser member in this Organization? For what purpose?

"But there's a spin on the rules," Dulor said in a sinister voice. "If you have the best luck and _win_, you walk outta here alive. But if you fail…your blackened heart stops beating temporarily. That will buy us some time before Xehanort makes his arrival."

"So…I have to beat you in a card game," I muttered to myself. I had to gamble for my life with someone who was probably a pro card player. "This sounds rigged."

"Don't worry, these cards have minds of their own," Dulor said, and a deck of cards lifted from Dulor's pocket and into the air in between him and I. "It's like they have hearts themselves." The cards started scattering throughout the air and shuffled themselves, and then put themselves in Dulor's open hand. "Now!"

A white table with a black and white checkerboard tablecloth rose from the ground out of thin air, along with two chairs. I sat down uneasily. I didn't really want to sit down with this man, but if I could win back my freedom, I will take that chance.

Dulor sat down opposite me. "One round," Dulor said with a smirk, the cards still in his hand. "Small and simple, but can lead a powerful impact on the rest of your life. Now…DEAL THE CARDS!"

His shout caused the cards to go to action. The deck rose from his hand and scattered to all corners of the room, and four cards returned. Two cards landed in front of Dulor, one faced up and one faced down. Two cards landed in front of me and did the same.

The thought of this was stupid. A card game to gamble over my freedom. The though made me sick. What if I had _actually_ lost? _My heard would stop beating for Xehanort's sake_! Well, I didn't really have a heart, but I guess whatever was in there was identical to Ven's except this one had darkness inside of it.

"So…Let's see…" My face up card was a simple nine. A large number, but would it pull through for me? I checked the facedown card, making sure Dulor hadn't seen it. It was an Ace. "What do I do with an Ace?"

"You realized you just gave away the card you're using," Dulor said with a disappointed frown. "In any case, the Ace card can be either a one, or an eleven."

Nine plus eleven? Simple. It was twenty. Oh no. I could ask for another card, but if I make that choice I can get more than twenty-one and that would stop my heart for good.

I looked at Dulor's two cards. One I clearly saw. It was a King. If I played my cards right—no pun intended—then I'd have to guess the Jack, Queen, or King would count as ten. If he had ten, then what could his other card be? He looked at his facedown card and smirked.

"You want another card?"

I stumbled over my own words, trying to find what I wanted to say. I then decided to nod, risking everything here. A card flew at me and into between my index finger and middle finger. I looked at it. My eyes widened. How can this be _pureluck_? This was too good to be true. _Another ace_. Meaning…nine plus eleven is twenty, and plus one more would be twenty-one.

I had won. _This easily_? I started laughing hysterically and yelled at Dulor, "DULOR! The game you gave me is COMPLETELY BEATABLE! I win, loser!"

"You what?" he asked without much surprise, and the deck of cards flying through the air, as well as my three cards and his two cards, vanished, and the table sunk into the ground along with its chairs. "Good boy. You bested my unbeatable game that nobody has ever beaten me with. But…"

"But?"

"Did you really think I would let you walk out of here oh so easily?" Dulor asked and laughed in a strong accent. Can accents be noticeable within laughing? I didn't really care. This guy really was pissing me off. He had basically tricked me into playing a _pointless _game.

"You bastard," I told him, calling upon my X-Blade.

"Ah, the legendary X-Blade spoken from ancient folklore that I've heard _so _much of!" he shouted, a glint in his eyes. "What I would give to have a weapon like that." His blue eyes melted into a startling _Xehanort Golden_. He raised his hand and a Keyblade appeared in his hand. It was a bright white Keyblade, and each of the blades were the shapes of sharpened black cards. The handle was also shaped like a card he held onto. Each card had a certain number of white dots on them. "But let's skip the theatrics and get right down to it, shall we?"

He played me _like a sitar_ and was good at his job. _Manipulating_. He ran to me and swung his Keyblade. I knew he wouldn't kill me, but he would still seriously hurt and injure me like Repliku had done.

I connected Keyblades with Dulor, and on impact, Dulor jumped into the air backwards, flipping backwards as he did that, and landing perfectly in front of the door leading forward into the castle.

The door opened, automatically, and a flurry of cards flew out passed Dulor and towards me. The swirled around me in a nonexistent wind, slicing my skin as black blood dripped out.

The cars each exploded, each explosion shattering my eardrums every second. I fell onto my knees and didn't even realize that Dulor had stepped to right in front of me with his Keyblade pointed towards my face, the tip of the blade calmly resting against my nose.

"My Ace of Destruction, a Keyblade given to me by my Superior," Dulor said with a smile. "Xehanort."

"You can tell me where Xehanort is!" I shouted at Dulor, though I had realized that talking things through were pointless. "Imagine the possibilities! We can work together and—"

"You work alone," Dulor corrected me. "Xehanort's exact words. Well, Xemnas's, technically." He smirked at me, digging the point of his blade even harsher against my poor nose. "But do you wanna know something about this castle?"

Before I could ask what he meant, I felt that warm glow in my chest. Dulor's face was replaced with Ventus's. That smile of happiness that never left his stupid little face. Well, until I saw Ventus's new scowl that he wore.

"I think you can save me, Vanitas," Ventus said, hi scowl turning into a smile. "After all, we're the same person and we can help each other out. I can lead you to me. We can work together."

He held his hand out. Once I grabbed it, he melted into a shower of light and the sparks of light flew into myself, and the warm feeling intensified.

I finally saw my _actual _surroundings now. Dulor stood right in front of me, finally retracting his Keyblade. "What the bloody hell was that?" he asked with confused eyes.

"I am near completion," I said without me wanting to. I shook my head viciously and yelled, "No! What am I saying!?" I looked back to Luxord. "Get _away _from me!" Dark wind shot from my body, and Dulor flew into one of the walls. "I _have_ to get out of here!"

Before I knew it, Dulor had sank into the ground via a corridor of darkness. But I couldn't care less. My anger was overflowing. All of the cards on the ground vanished from sight as darkness flooded out of my body.

And before I knew it, each pedestal had a single black flame on it, and the wall to the right of me glowed a bright white…and vanished.

I looked into the room it revealed. A _huge _room with a weird insignia all over the walls. A single chair was in the center of the room. And the person on it was the person that was here.

The one I waited for.

Ven was sitting in the chair, asleep, his head motionless, and I could not even detect a heartbeat.

This was the Ventus I've looked for in this castle. Just my luck too. Dulor had vanished, and Repliku was somewhere in the castle. I didn't let that bother me, so I rushed to Ven's lifeless body on the white throne.

My anger and intense darkness had opened up this _chamber_. Ventus was right under the _Organization's_ nose. How lucky for me.

I found him. Ven.

.

**Ven, after all these years, has been found. But by ****_Vanitas_****? What shall happen now? STAY TUNED! REVIEW! ENJOY THE REST! **


	8. The Boy Who Slept

**The Boy Who Slept**

Every fiber of my being was telling me to back away now; to escape this castle _without_ Ventus. But with the warm glow in the pit of my stomach as strong as ever, I had no choice but to walk closer. And when I did, Ven's body didn't even stir. Had he been like this for over ten years?

_"__Vanitas, run!"_ Ven's voice.

In no time at all, a Keyblade swung at me and I deflected it with my own X-Blade. Of course, I recognized the Keyblade instantly. The _Path of Darkness_. Repliku stood in between Ventus and I, wearing a scowl that somehow caused me to back down.

I retracted my Keyblade as Repliku held his arms out to either side of him, his Keyblade vanishing. He looked into my eyes and said, "You were not supposed to see this!"

"How'd you get in here as soon as I opened this dinky place up?" I asked with confusion. There were no doors on any of the walls. It was just an open throne room that was hidden in the center of the castle.

"We used you to achieve the Organization's first goal," Repliku said smiling. "Our first goal is to take Ventus. But to do that, we had to find the boy. So we used you, and of course, as we intended, Ven's heart guided you along."

"I thought you didn't want to be in the Organization," I told him. "Yet you know _so much_?"

"Xemnas forced Dulor and I to come here," Repliku answered. "Of course he had to tell us why. And this boy seemed to be very special to Xehanort."

"Stand down!" I yelled out. "I could easily _kill _you right now!" I jumped forward and swung my Keyblade, and Repliku simply shot a dark ball of black fire from his gloved hand, and it flew towards me. All I did was swing at it, and I broke through the fire and nearly sliced open Repliku, if he hadn't jumped even farther back, until he was almost on top of Ventus.

"So move aside," Repliku threatened, his eyes shining golden and his scowl making my body tense up. "Do it—"

"No way!" I yelled. "This is much to _entertaining_." I used my dark powers to sink into the floor, and I popped out of the floor behind Ventus's chair. "Hello!" I held my Keyblade at and pressed the tip of my blade on Ven's neck, and Repliku instantly brought out his Keyblade again. "One wrong move and Ven is killed, right here, right now."

"You wouldn't—"

"I would," I replied quickly. Of course I would. This boy had caused me nothing but suffering for the past ten years and my only regret is not killing him ten years prior. I could totally just murder the Organization's prime target, other than me, and then get on with my life.

_"__But you can't do that."_

I most certainly could. I didn't want to speak to the voice in my head, because that would make me seem too suspicious, but I looked over to Repliku and said, "Let me go and Ventus stays alive. Do we have a deal?"

Repliku raised his Keyblade instinctively. "Do what you want. As you said, I don't wanna be in this Organization nor do I want to do what Xehanort says."

"Let me go," I repeated.

"Fine, I will," Repliku muttered. "Vanitas, you are now free to go. Get out of here before I change my mind."

"Okay," I said, and my X-Blade vanished, relieving the sleeping Ventus. I walked around the throne, towards the opening in the room where a wall once stood, and passed up Repliku. "I guess I'll leave now…"

"Okay, I lied," Repliku replied. Predictable response. I knew exactly what he was going say. I can read emotions easily, even though I have none. "Okay, I'm tired of waiting for Xehanort's orders. I can just knock you out _now_!"

So much rage in one voice, I barely recognized this guy. Well, despite knowing him for a day. With that roar, he flew at me with his Keyblade outstretched. He was so fast I couldn't register his movements.

Before he got to me, however, he stopped mid-swing, dropped his Keyblade, and clutched his head as his golden eyes glowed white, then back to golden.

He was then flung to the side by a mysterious force and crashed against the wall to the side of Ven's throne. Standing to the side of Ven's throne, her hand out in the air, was Naminé.

How was she even here? As she walked towards me, I thought about her being here for a second. She wasn't a silhouette or see-through. She looked like an actual _person_, not an illusion.

"Nami?" My jaw dropped in an awed expression. "How are _you _here?"

"I've been trying to break through Sora's heart ever since you left," Nami answered simply, her beautiful face, even in a frown, looked too good to _actually _be here. "Strange things happened since you left. One, there was that storm that lasted quite a while. Second, Ventus kept disappearing and reappearing while he slept. Third, he disappeared for good a couple of hours ago."

"He escaped Sora's heart as well, didn't he?" I asked. "His heart went inside of mine for a brief moment?"

"And is possibly still here," Nami said, placing a hand over my heart. "At least I'm here now, to save you. I used Roxas as a medium. Since whenever he was created, a piece of Ven's heart went inside of him, Roxas is _almost_ the same. So I used Roxas to anchor myself to the outside world wherever Ventus went. I found you. And…dear god, I found _him_."

Nami looked to Repliku with longing eyes as if they were distant friends or longtime enemies. I couldn't tell which, though.

"So why are you _really_ here?" I asked.

Nami chuckled. "I guess I'm not entirely here to see you." Of course she wasn't. "I have to make sure Ven returns to Sora's heart. If Ven wakes up now without Sora's being aware of it, Sora may never be the same."

"Is that a fact?" I asked. I didn't particularly want Ventus to wake up. But that also begged the question. "Wait, if Ven woke up, wouldn't I be sent back to the outside?" Nami's eyes opened wide in an alarming way. "Because we merged together before going into Sora's heart. Going out of his heart may free me from Ventus!"

"You can't change the way things are," Nami snapped back. "Sora's destined to save the world, and he can't do it without the Keyblade."

"What do you mean?"

"Ventus's heart went to Sora in its time of need," Nami replied in her sweet, yet concerned voice as blue eyes met my golden ones. "It is the reason Sora can wield the Keyblade today. Another factor is that Riku was _supposed _to wield the Keyblade first, but the darkness took him too soon. This activated Ven's abilities."

"And?"

"If Ven's heart goes back to his body, it can temporarily or even _permanently _take away Sora's ability to wield the Keyblade."

I was at a loss for words. But would Sora losing his most powerful ability affect me in any way?

As if reading my thoughts, Nami continued, "It wouldn't affect you, but it would affect the fate of all worlds. If Sora is destined to fight Xehanort, taking away his main ability can ruin a lot of chances to destroy Xehanort for good."

That last sentence hit me like a bullet to the gut. I wanted Xehanort to fall by _my_ hand, but if taking away Sora can also take away my chances of destroying the old man, that could be a problem. Then I can never be _truly_ free of Ven's heart. I would need to go back to Sora's heart in order for us to separate again. I couldn't take this light in my stomach anymore. The more Ven stayed asleep while I was on the outside, the more of his light, soul, and heart stayed within me.

I was his vessel until we both returned to Sora. Just great.

"Why you…" a voice mumbled from the side of the room. _Repliku_. He stood up shakily and stared at Nami and I. "Naminé!? Is that really you?"

Ah, so they _did _know each other.

"Call me Nami," the sweet blond replied. _Yes_, I _knew _it would catch on! "Riku…um, er, Replica…I assume you must be in this Organization XIII now."

"Correct, Naminé…Nami," Repliku replied uneasily. Repliku blushed a little bit. I'm no emotion doctor, but I'm pretty sure that's what people do when they are either embarrassed or they _like_ someone. "Against my will…I was supposed to be dead…but I found my way into the Realm of Darkness, and sometime later the one named Saix…um, excuse me…_Isa_, found me."

"I think I understand," Nami replied. "So this Organization…you have any idea on who else is in it, or they're overall goal—?"

"I do…" Repliku muttered. "I didn't want to say it in front of Target Thirteen here, but anything for you, Nami. How did Xemnas put it? Oh, yeah. " He cleared his throat. "_The three lost Keybearers shall light the way to the forbidden path where the forgotten legend unveils itself_."

"Three lost Keybearers?" I immediately repeated. Three names did come to mind however. Of course, one was Ven. The others were Terra and Aqua. But what _is_ this _forbidden path_ and the _forgotten legend_?

"Ah!" Nami screamed, falling onto her knees and clutching her stomach. Darkness rose up in tendrils from the ground and wrapped around her legs, keeping her completely stationary. "What—?"

Appearing from the corridor of darkness behind Nami was Dulor. Of course he had to show at the most inappropriate time. Nami shot him a glare of daggers.

"I'd rather we just skip the formalities," Dulor said with a smile, putting a hand on Nami's shoulder. "So we figure, if we take what's precious to Vanitas, we can screw with his mind and cause him to comply to our demands." He then shot a look to Repliku. "We'll deal with _you_ later."

Repliku grumbled, saying, "Don't _hurt_ Nami." He vanished within a corridor of darkness.

Dulor smirked, as another man walked out of his corridor of darkness. It was Isa, holding his permanent scowl as he stared Nami in the eyes.

"Saix," Nami grumbled.

"Let her go," I said, trying not to speak to loudly. I didn't want them to know I _cared_. This girl was probably the only person I've _ever _cared about, and this is coming from someone who is incapable of love and emotions. Dulor and Nami vanished within darkness. "Nami!"

Isa walked up to me and conjured up a corridor of darkness. "Vanitas, within this portal is your destination. Where it leads, I will not tell. Don't worry; this room will be under our constant surveillance. Within this portal is where you have to be."

"I _have_ to be there?"

"You'll obviously escape Castle Oblivion," Isa said as if it was obvious. "Through this portal is a world where a barrier is around, restricting how far you can go. You will not be able to escape this world."

A tug of darkness pulled at my core, and I nearly flew into the corridor of darkness. I may be out of this stupid castle, but I'll be in a completely different world where I won't be able to escape and cross the realm between like I used to.

How sad. I didn't want to be a prisoner, but it seemed like that, what with me having to jump from place to place until they found a suitable prison for me.

But I had to save Nami.

And get back to Ven.

What was I to do now?

.

**Did you like this chapter? I figured bring Naminé into the mix will spice things up a bit. Which world was Vanitas going to be held hostage at? Only time will tell.**


	9. Traversing Bounty Hunter

**Traversing Bounty Hunter**

My landing wasn't a pleasant one. I hit the hard ground and stayed down for a whole five minutes. I lazily opened my eyes and stared at the black sky above me. There was a lot of noise all around me that sounded of people, vehicles, et cetera.

I stood up on my knees and looked ahead. A large building with the letters 'Accessory Shop' loomed ahead of me passed a small staircase. I stood up completely, nearly knocking myself over again. What a rude welcoming to a world, _Organization_.

Not even a few steps, and something brushed passed my legs. I looked down to see nothing. I scratched back of my head. I felt a brushing again at the back of my legs, so I whipped around to see _nothing_ once again. I continued to scratch the back of my head in confusion.

I heard a small sigh, so I whipped around and kicked outward, and I soon heard the grunting of something followed by the _plop_ on the hard ground.

I looked down at my odd stalker. A small, white creature resembling a plush toy, with a large, spherical head, small ears sprouting out of the sides of its head, a thin brown antennae sticking out of its head connecting to a red spherical object that stayed afloat in the air. Its eyes were just sideways slits. It's nose was huge and pinkish.

"What _are _you?" I called out in surprise.

"Moogle," came a squeaky voice from the creature. A _Moogle_? "What is your name, kupo?"

"My name is of no importance," came the squeaky voice again. "This is Traverse Town, the world where those who lost their worlds come to."

"I haven't lost my world," I mumbled. Come to think of it, I didn't _have _a world in the first place. "The _Organization_…they are keeping me _here_?"

"You need some serious rest," Moogle replied. "I recommend stopping for a drink in the fifth district."

Instead of listening to the Moogle, I rushed passed him and up the stairs, where I found my way to the front doors of the Accessory Shop. I opened it, and there was nobody in here. I figured there's be even more people here than what there was.

I heard the sounds of people talking loudly, but there was none in sight. When I closed the door behind me, I heard a voice say, "You seem lost."

There was a lady behind the desk on the side of the store, who sported long blond hair and bright green eyes.

"I suppose I am," I replied. "I don't know exactly where I am…or what I'm supposed to do here." I looked at the woman. "Explain everything to me now. Please."

"Well, this is Traverse Town," the woman said, and then repeated what _Moogle_ had told me. "So since you're new in town, I recommend getting a drink at the Royal Treasure bar in the Fifth District." Was she seriously locating me to a _bar_? Did my appearance not give away a _young_ age? "Don't worry, sweetie, I won't tell anyone you're over there."

"How to get to the Fifth District?" I asked. There was no way for me to know my way around. How exactly was it possible for me to stay here for an indefinite amount of time?

And the woman did tell me where I had to go. She was extremely descriptive. She mentioned every fork in the road _spot on_. I was maybe able to deal with staying here for a while. This town felt like it was changing me by the minute. I wasn't even complaining about being stuck here.

As I headed to the Fifth District, I looked above and saw the twinkling stars in the sky. When I got to the bar the lady had mentioned—a glittering golden sign with the name _Royal Treasure_ sparkling in diamond—I had walked in.

A sweet smell filled the air and the sounds of people, grunting, and drinking took place all around me. I looked around, seeing all of the older men and women who mingled and chatted amongst each other as they held drinks in their hands.

A long bar with a kitchen behind it stood at the end of the bar. I walked towards it, narrowly dodging a small fight between two men, and I sat down at the table where a bartender stood on the other side, cleaning a glass with a dirty rag.

"New around town, ain't ya?" the man asked, and I just nodded. I hated people as it is, but having to converse with them was even worse. "Well, you get used to it after a while."

A person sat down right to the side of me silently, as I had barely noticed a movement at all. But the man on the side of me for some reason made me feel a tad overwhelmed.

He had short black hair that was slicked back with grease; his muscles seemed to rip through his white wife-beater which was underneath a black leather jacket, and blue jeaned pants with rips at the knees. He wore dark sunglasses to cover his eyes. He had a small stubby beard on his chin.

Hanging from his lips was a cigarette. I had never seen anyone use one before, but I was certain that this is what people would consider 'smoking'.

He looked to me, and he smirked wickedly. "Well, a newbie here, ain't ya?" I nodded. "Name's Malik Kamikaze. Call me Malik. As long as I've been here in Traverse Town, I ain't seen hide nor hair of you. You're getup speaks volumes, believe me."

"Vanitas," I replied distastefully.

Malik scratched his head. I really wanted to punch this guy in the throat. I _hate _people, I _hate _when people speak, and I _hate _this guy especially now. How had I only been here an hour and already there was someone who I would classify even more frustrating than Xehanort?

I then felt a shoving at my shoulder. The two that were fighting earlier had made their fight travel close to me. Delightful. So I jumped out of my chair, the X-Blade appearing in my hand as the cold blade slit a tiny portion of a man's throat, blood dribbling out.

"Whoa!" the other man who was spared shouted out, tripping over his friend and quickly exiting the bar. Everyone else around was staring at me and the near-dead man who, with one wrong move of my blade, could die at any given moment.

I made my X-Blade disappear. I believe that took care of that. Malik looked at me and smirked. "Ah, that was strange, kiddo! I don't think I've ever seen a _Keyblade _before."

Normally people didn't know of these weapons. Xehanort had told me that people didn't know of other worlds, nor did they know of the Keyblades and Keyholes and everything else that had to do with other worlds. Yet _Malik_ knew about the weapon I had just made vanish.

Everyone else was staring. It was a bit unsettling. I kicked aside the guy whose throat I slit and darted out of the bar as quick as I could. Before I could even exit the Fifth District, a hand gripped my shoulder and held me in place. I looked behind me and saw Malik.

"What do you want?" I yelled, yanking my arm from him. "And how do you know—" In my hand appeared the X-Blade. "—about this!?"

"I'm a traveler, you can say," Malik answered truthfully. Normally I can tell a lie from the truth, but this guy_was_ some kind of traveler. Did he travel the worlds? If he did, could he wield a Keyblade? "Word of the Keys get around. Where I come from, the Keyblade was the greatest legend that was ever told."

"Is that so?"

"Yep, it sure was," Malik replied. "I wish I could wield a Key like that, but everyone knows they have to choose their masters." What a load of bull. I scowled at him. "So why am I here now? To find the Ruins of Traverse Town and find my escape."

"You're…escape?" I asked with a confused frown.

"Exactly. Ya see, there's this group, Organization XIII—" I nearly jumped at that name. "For a month they've kept me here. They put a barrier around the world so it is impossible for anyone to leave. But I know a way to save ourselves from here. I'm guessing, if you have a Key, that means they're trying to keep ya here as well."

"You couldn't be more correct," I answered. So this guy, Malik, is being kept here? And he's been here for a month? So they are trying to keep me locked here with some lunatic with knowledge of the Keyblades, and possibly _every_ secret about the outside world. What _could_ this guy know? "What world do you come from?"

"Ah, doesn't really matter none," Malik replied. This guy wasn't being that direct with me. He couldn't tell me which world he came from or who told him about the Keyblades. That was just pissing me off. "All that matters is that I'm here. Anyway, would ya come lookin for them ruins with me?"

"What kind of ruins are we talking about?"

"The underground of Traverse Town," Malik said, and I could picture him rolling his eyes underneath those sunglasses. You see, years ago, for the first time, the Heartless invaded. They worked their way underground, creating a whole section of tunnels and mazes that some can get lost in."

"And why do you need to find it?"

"Because, deep within, is a mystical _Keyhole_ that can lead anywhere, regardless of restrictions or spells put upon this world. This means we both have a way outta here."

This guy had just become my ticket outta here. There was actually a chance I can escape this world. But come on! This man had been here for over a month and hasn't made one move to escape. Why the sudden change of heart? But I had to escape this world, so I had no other choice.

"Now, where are we supposed to go?" I asked, and Malik's face seemed to light up with mischief. He rushed passed me and kept running until he approached a sewer cap, where inside most likely led to the underground. "I'm guessing that thing?"

"Yes!" Malik shouted, lifting up the cap and throwing it to the side. It was covering a man-sized hole that led deeper down into the underground. "Right here is where our journey to the outside of Traverse Town begins!"

He jumped into the hole, even though it was too dark to see beyond it, and I decided to jump in as well, following the strange man. I landed on a ground that was a tad wet, my shoes soaking in three centimeters of water.

It was dark down here, but my X-Blade lit the place up, light from above me shining off of my blade. I could finally see around me. The area was very open, maybe about a few yards wide and an indefinite distance out in front of me. I looked at the walls. Writing was all over the walls, written in a white ink.

Some pictures showed what Traverse Town, I was guessing, looked like from the outside. Some showed pictures of six ladies in princess gowns. Xehanort had called them the Princesses of Heart. Other pictures looked like Hearts, the Heartless, and other creatures.

What was all this? Another picture looked like the weapon I held now—the X-Blade! As I walked forward I ran my hand along the wall, looking at all of the detailed drawings.

I came across a picture that looked almost exactly like…the Keyblade Graveyard. Keyblades of light and dark, each on a certain side, with one road down the middle. That was where I saw two figures that seemed to be walking down that road. It looked nearly identical to Xehanort and I.

How did they know what we even looked like!? This was over ten years ago, _for Xehanort's sake_!

I looked towards Malik, but he had traveled farther into the cave. "Whoa…" he muttered, as if he had never seen ancient writing before. What a weirdo. He stared down all of the larger drawings. I would say that these pictures were cool and all, but it was too weird and accurate to be true.

"They say that an ancient beast was locked away in here," Malik's voice said from somewhere up ahead of me. I looked to him, and he was covered in shadows. I could barely see him, when suddenly a trail of torches lit up all around the walls and lead the way down this long underground hallway. "These torches light up when people are here. We must be the first ones in like, forever, to even set foot down here."

I heard a low grown echo off of the walls. What was that? That sounded too _alive_ to be a Heartless. It was nothing like that Unnamed Heartless at all. This growl was weirdly alive. Could something be alive down here?

And then a beast ran past me at lightning speed and crashed into the back wall behind me. As I whipped around to see the creature, Malik got into a battle stance. The creature before me, obviously male, sure didn't look like a Heartless. Actually, it looked more like an animal.

"_Thank the gods_, I found him!" Malik shouted from behind me, my mouth hanging open in awed surprise. "The great beast, _Julius_!"

Julius sported dark blue fur, plaque-stained fangs, and bright red hair. He wears a light blue shirt, which is ripped at the sleeves, dark blue pants worn up to his chest, and dirty white gloves. Several parts of his body and clothing are stitched together, and one of his legs has been replaced with a peg leg, like how pirates would wear. He has metal bolts sticking out of his neck.

He looked like a huge, zombie-like animal. His arms were really long and bulky, and he snarled at me, growling and sending saliva flying into the air.

"God of the Traverse Ruins!" Malik yelled. "My dear Vanitas, this is Julius!"

The beast leapt passed me and went directly after Malik. Malik began laughing, and as I turned around to see him, in Malik's hand was a large silver Keyblade shaped weapon. Instead of a blade at the end, it was shaped like a gun.

"My own Key, Gunpowder!" Malik shouted. "Come on Julius, you wanna tussle? Then let's tussle!" As Julius bounded for Malik, a loud gunshot noise echoed off of the walls, and a speeding silver bullet escaped his Gunpowder and went through Julius's shoulder, and blood escaped the small wound.

Yet it didn't seem to stop Julius. He slashed at Malik, his fist colliding with Malik's face which caused the man to fly into a wall on the side of him.

Blood ran down Malik's lip, but Malik still laughed. I would've liked to watch Julius smash Malik's face in, but I guess I had to do the right thing and defeat Julius myself. So I jumped forward with my X-Blade, slashing it through the air. And then Julius grabbed hold of it.

Blood dripped down Julius's hands as he clutched the blade. A dark light emanated off of my X-Blade, and Julius jerked away, his hands smoking from the hot darkness. It _burned _him?

I slashed again, the cold blade meeting Julius's arm and staining his fir and shirt with blood. Dark mist swirled out of his wound as he yelled out in rage.

The more I blasted him with darkness, the more his body burned in darkness at the intense heat of the blackness. While I fought the creature, swinging at Julius and using Dark Firaga about a dozen times, I yelled, "So why were you wanting to fight this beast?"

Malik answered back against the wall, "I'm a paid bounty hunter from my world. My most recent objective is to fight of Julius, the God of Traverse Ruins!"

Of course, he _had _to be a bounty hunter. "Dark Firaga!" The ball of black flames collided with Julius, slamming him to the ground where he lay unconscious.

"Come on," Malik said, pressing himself off of the wall and continuing his journey down the ruins as if Julius didn't exist. "He looks like he'll stay down. We need to find that special _Keyhole_."

And our journey continued. As we walked down the seemingly endless hallway, following the torches and the white drawings along the walls, the sound of the outside world and the sound of Julius's heavy breathing seemed to be completely shut off.

We couldn't hear anything. The wide hallway emptied into an even wider room, where all along the circular room, there were the white drawings of nearly everything people needed to know about the outside: Pictures of other worlds, the Princesses of Heart, the many Keyblades, the actual _X-Blade_, the legendary _Kingdom Hearts_, the Heartless, other creatures, _Xehanort _himself, and of course, Julius.

In the center of the room, surrounded by a circle of torches, was a pedestal with a crystal object on the top of it, shaped like a Keyhole.

"We found it," Malik gawked, staring at the Keyhole like it was a newborn baby. Tsk, I would frown upon a newborn. Humans are ruining the worlds as it is. Enough about that. Malik continued. "The great, almighty Keyhole! The _True_ Heart of Traverse Town!"

This must've been in the exact center of the world. The true heart. I looked above me. On the ceiling, directly above the crystal Keyhole, was a drawing that looked like a fountain.

As I inched closer to the Keyhole, my head suddenly felt heavy, and images ran through my mind. No, not images. Actual visions, like when I crossed through Sora's heart's barrier and saw the visions.

I was like a ghost in the treehouse in Sora's heart's interpretation of Destiny Islands. Xion stood over Roxas, who was laying on the floor with a light pulsing over his heart.

"Naminé, hurry!" Xion called out to the girl who wasn't there. She lay her head close to Roxas's heart…or whatever was there that a Nobody had. "Please hurry!" Her voice broke as she sat up, a few tears dripping from her eyes, down her cheeks and off of her chin, dripping onto Roxas's forehead.

The scene shifted. Ventus stirred in his sleep in that chamber on his throne, where Isa stood over him with a hand on his shoulder.

Appearing out of a corridor of darkness was Braig, and we walked casually over to Ventus and ran a hand through the blonde's hair. "Well," he said loudly. "If only Xehanort were here now."

"Braig, quit worrying," Isa commanded, taking his hand away from Ven's shoulder. "Xehanort will undoubtedly be here soon."

The scene shifted again. Nami stood in a jail cell where Dulor stood outside of the bars. The place the two were in didn't look familiar. What I thought looked like a cell actually looked more like a pod. A strange container for her to stay in? Where was she? The room the pod was in was white all around.

Dulor smiled, saying, "Everything will be over soon," and vanished. Appearing outside of the pod was Repliku, who stood with his arms crossed, biting his lip in anticipation.

"Riku…" Nami mumbled, her voice failing her as she was on the ground, on her knees.

"Nami…" Repliku replied, nearly shedding a tear, and he vanished as well, leaving Nami alone.

At last, the visions ended and I opened my eyes to the crystal Keyhole that was directly in front of me, not even a few inches away.

I stuck my my hand out to touch it, and as if there was some kind of reaction, the room started to shake, startling Malik and causing him to shout out, "Whoa, what's goin' on!?"

I retracted my hand quickly, and the shaking ceased. _"__You can escape here by using the X-Blade," _the voice in my head—Ventus—said. _"__Do it, and then you can find Nami and save me."_

The X-Blade once again appeared in my hand. I brought it closer to the Keyhole, and the room started shaking more violently than before. And then the X-Blade entered the Keyhole. Soon enough, the crystal lit up in a golden color and shattered into a million particles of light.

"You done it!" Malik yelled from somewhere behind me.

As the light that escaped the now open Keyhole grew ever stronger, Julius of all things bounded into the room, completely healed, and headed straight for Malik once again. This time, Julius had the upper hand, and grabbed Malik by the throat, lifting the man into the air as he flailed his arms around trying to escape.

I felt the warmth of Ven within my dark heart, as well as the strange dark pit in my stomach. The two grew stronger than ever, resonating with one another. I was completely immersed in light. The screaming Malik behind me, his neck being squeezed by Julius, yelled out, "Vanitas, save me again!"

I looked to Malik, the tears in his eyes and the lack of air showing on his cold face. His sunglasses fell off of his face and clattered to the ground, revealing the man's soft, pale pink eyes. Blood dribbled out of his mouth.

"Vanitas!"

His face had turned a mix of angered red and breathless blue, until he couldn't scream any longer. I could either escape into the light before me, or I could stay behind and help Malik out before he died.

I stuck with the former. The light completely overtook me, until all I could see was white, the ground beneath me that was shaking completely halting as I felt as if I was floating.

The sounds of Malik's struggle, as well as the glowing sounds coming from the strong light, had died down and vanished completely. Surely Julius took care of Malik.

Where was I now? I opened my eyes and saw the blackness of space. Stars scattered across the sky. From what Xehanort had told me, each star was a new world. The world Traverse Town I had just escaped was looming in front of me like a large planet.

That was the world I had come out of. I was free. I wasn't near the Organization anymore. I could now set my course. I _had_ to find Xehanort before the Organization found me, used Ven in any way, or harm Nami.

I was now on my way. Where I was even going, I wasn't so sure. But the light in Ven's heart could guide me. I felt Ven's heart throbbing inside of me, as if trying to point at where I should go.

One of the perks of my darkened heart was that I wasn't affected by the darkness of the Lanes Between. I could travel without being eaten by the darkness.

Xehanort, here I come!

.

**How did you like my OC, Malik? Was he an alright character? He's one of, well, my at least three OCs that I have in mind. Okay, here's a challenge for you that I'm sure will make you review. Give me in your review an OC that is created by you! Either one you created already, or you can create one as soon as you review! Any will be fine! **

**What do I want from this OC? One, he has to fit the Kingdom Hearts world, but I don't want any talking animals or any Disney-like characters. State his/her personality, his/her looks, and of course, his/her name! His homeworld has to be a world original to the Kingdom Hearts series. **

**I do NOT want a Disney world's inhabitant. Example worlds they COULD be from: Traverse Town, Twilight Town, Radiant Garden, Keyblade Graveyard, Castle Oblivion, World that Never Was, etc...or create an original world and state what this world looks like or something like that. **

**I'm asking a lot, I know, but along with my OCs I want at least one or two from my fan(s?). Thanks a lot! Also state whether he's a good guy, or a bad guy. ALSO! I do NOT want any of these characters to be of the True Organization XIII. That's where my choices are. **

**Thanks a lot for this! I hope to hear some of your ideas! And if nobody gives me any OCs, well, I'll have to find a way to make my story work, or I'll have to create more OCs. Anyway, please please PLEASE give me an OC! Not many people review, probably just one or a few guest reviewers, but that's it.**

**Anyway, stay TUNED!**


	10. Memories of Twilight

**Memories of Twilight**

So the feeling of coldness coming from the dark vacuum of the Lanes Between became unsettling as I traveled for around an hour looking for another world to settle down in. But I passed in front of a particular world that Ven's heart seemed to react to almost instantly.

As I passed this world multiple times, Ven's heart throbbed and warmed my chest, and I could feel the intensity of Ven's pull. He was trying to lead me towards this world.

Which world was this? I saw a clock tower, a _beautiful_ sunset, a train…a weird jumble of objects put together to make this world. And most of all, this world felt warm. Something inside me told me that Ventus had been to this world before. But that was impossible. He'd never even come to a world like this.

_Roxas_. I felt that Roxas had been to this world, since he _was _Ven's doppelgänger. Something also told me that Sora, my own doppelgänger, had been to this world once before as well.

I pointed the X-Blade at the world, and a beam of dark light shot towards it, and I heard the sound sounding almost like the unlocking of a Keyhole or something like that. And I seemed to vanish in a flash of light.

Where was I now? I felt high up. The wind smooth its way against my face and ruffled my hair. My body felt like it was floating in the breeze. I opened my eyes. I was staring at a beautiful sunset over the horizon. I looked down. About a hundred feet or more down.

I noticed I was on the edge of a large building. The building I was standing on happened to be a large clock tower. I was so close to the edge of the balcony I stood on, one more step and I would plummet downward. And then I remembered.

Twilight Town.

I had definitely been here before. It wasn't Ven's pull on my heart, or the feeling I had from being Sora's doppelgänger. I had _actually_ been here. With Xehanort. I looked around, familiarizing myself with the once familiar place.

I had been here close to fourteen years ago. Xehanort had just dropped Ventus at the Land of Departure to train under Eraqus. That's how I remember this place. This was the first place that Xehanort had taken me after our stop in the Land of Departure.

I remembered it well.

_Xehanort and I landed on our feet in front of the large clock tower, staring up at the massive clock as the ticking became unbearable._

_"__Now that we are here," Xehanort said in his raspy, old voice. "It is time to train you in the art of darkness. For darkness shall clash with light. Are we ready, Vanitas?"_

_I still wore my helmet back in those times; I hadn't fully developed Sora's face yet. I was still a blank slate. I answered back in my, probably ten year old voice, "Yes, Master."_

_"__Good," Xehanort replied back, placing a hand on my shoulder. "But in order to learn, we must do. Nothing I say can teach you. Only battle will suffice." And just like that, his own Keyblade of darkness appeared in his hand. Unlike other Keys, he'd never given his a name. "Go!" And rather suddenly, he swung at me with the Keyblade._

_I had to think fast, drawing my own Void Gear and connecting our two blades, sending a spiral of darkness out from between us and nearly causing thunder to rumble in the distance._

_"__Now use you're true darkness abilities," he shouted, "that Ventus could not!" He wiggled his fingers a bit, darkness appearing at his fingertips, and Neoshadow Heartless rose from the ground. There were around thirteen of them._

_Several jumped at me at once, so I slashed at the four that jumped my way. Each slash of my Void Gear caused them to perish and turn into liquefied shadows._

_I raised my hand into the air, and three other Neoshadows instantaneously exploded in a flurry of darkness. The other six leapt at me, and darkness exited my body like several hands, each shadowy hand grabbing hold of a Neoshadow and squeezing them into oblivion._

_I had easily defeated the Neoshadows. Apparently I knew more than I thought. How had Ventus _not_master my power of darkness?_

I missed those days. I could actually tolerate Xehanort, despite the hell he's put me through and those countless waves of Heartless I was forced to fight. But I must say, I enjoyed fighting and killing each Heartless.

A hand rested on my shoulder. I quickly turned around. The boy there was a little bit taller than me, brown eyes, light skin, dark eyebrows, and spiky, blond hair. It wasn't the same blond or spikes as Ventus or Roxas, however.

"Whoa…" he muttered in disbelief. "Sora?" I arched an eyebrow. Had this guy met Sora? "Sora!? How'd this happen to you? What's with the hair, and those eyes…"

"Sorry, but I don't exactly know who you are," I said in the nicest way possible. And believe me, there's no way for me to sound _nice_. "And you've got the wrong guy. Sorry."

"I'm Hayner, then." The boy insisted on the introductions when all I wanted to do was move along. Great start to a _perfect_ world. "But you do look _a lot_ like Sora."

"I get that a lot," I lied, trying to speed up our conversation. "Now if you don't mind, I've gotta be somewhere."

I started walking forward. "Wait!" He yelled behind me.

I whipped my head around and sneered, "What!?"

"I guess you're new around town," Hayner said with a smile. "So I have to warn ya, this town isn't too safe to be walking around. In the past day or so, there's this ghost who walks down the streets and disappears with at least once townsperson. So you can come back with me—"

"Okay, let me stop you there," I snapped at him. "What does this _ghost_ look like?"

"Glowing, spherical red eyes," a voice answered for me, and walking from behind Hayner was a new kid.

The kid was a rather heavy-set boy with light skin, brown eyes, and black hair and eyebrows. He holds his hair up using a black headband with grey lining.

The boy continued, "Oh, yeah! He seemed to be wearing a jacket! A black jacket!" I arched another eyebrow. The Organization? "The only other thing worth mentioning is that this jacket had magenta colored flames printed going up the jacket's coattails and sleeves. That's about it. Oh, wait, with every step, darkness rises from the ground!" He sighed, clearly not wanting to explain this again as if he had done so already. "Oh, yeah, I'm Pence!"

This was definitely _not_ the Organization. From the members I've seen so far, none of them had the style to wear _fire flames_ on their coats. And I'm pretty sure they're _supposed_ to have golden eyes, not red.

But this definitely was mystery worth solving. So I decided to say, "Fine, I'll go with you two back to wherever it is Hayner was gonna take me." I smiled evilly in Hayner's direction, but he didn't seem to catch on.

"Okay, I'll lead the way," Hayner said running on ahead, Pence following closely behind and motioning his hand for me to follow.

As I followed these two kids who were both probably fifteen or sixteen, I seemed to remember a mystery ghost in this town long before this day, back when I had first gotten to Twilight Town.

_"__Master, send some more out! I'm ready to kill—"_

_"__Patience, little Vanitas," Xehanort replied to my whines. "We will resume our training once I'm done my job here. You stay around. Look at the sights. I'll only be an hour." And with that, he conjured up a corridor of darkness and vanished within it, leaving me all alone._

_Not even a full minute since he's left me, I found my way on the balcony near the top of the clock tower. And then I saw _it_. What seemed to be floating in the air, twenty feet away from me and the balcony, was a strange person in a black jacket. It was a normal jacket, not a cloak _like the Organization has_._

_The hood was covering its face so I couldn't see what it actually looked like underneath. And just like that, it vanished into thin air, almost fading away._

_It was a ghost alright. I turned around to walk back down the stairs that led me up here, but the ghost was right there in front of the stairs. Under its hood I saw spherical red eyes. I drew my Void Gear, and the creature simply laughed in a feminine voice. _

_It put its hands on either side of its hood, and slowly removed the hood. Her eyes immediately went from red to green. And _her_hood was finally removed; another face was staring at mine._

"We're here!" Hayner's voice cut through my unconscious mind and I finally realized I had walked the whole way, even without me realizing it. Passing a curtain made of cloth, we had entered a strange room willed with random objects, a few chairs, and even a sofa. "Our Usual Spot. Here's our other two group members! Olette and our newcomer!"

Two other people were in the room. A girl; she had bright green eyes, soft peach-colored skin, and brown hair. Her hair sticks out on the sides and two strands of hair fall from either side of her head, just long enough to drape over her shoulders. This must've been Olette.

"Hello, pleased to meet you!" she said in a happy-go-lucky attitude.

I looked at her awkwardly. She was kinda cute, but not as cute as Nami. Wait…what am I even thinking!? I had to quickly erase those thoughts and emotions from my mind.

I looked to the other person. She had on a simple black jacket, the hood over her face to where I couldn't see. She wore a pair of dark purple jean shorts that were slightly ripped on the legs, right above the knee, along with black sandals.

She seemed mysterious. And _familiar_. She looked up at me. And then those memories flashed through my head again.

_The mysterious ghost-girl, or whatever she was, had removed her hood. I looked at her nervously, obviously feeling my first ever emotion: love. The beauty of her couldn't be replaced. I was in awe. I awkwardly said, "My name's…Vanitas."_

_The girl that stood before me chuckled and smiled, saying, "Hello, Vanitas. My name is…"_

"My name is Rika." As my flood of memories ended, I stared at the girl who had stood before me, her hood now down, and I was able to see her familiar face. This was _Rika_, a girl I had met fourteen years ago. Yet it looked as if she had never aged. Well, to be precise, it looked more like she was my age. Around fifteen or sixteen, or however young I actually looked.

But now she looked so much like Nami and Xion. I couldn't place it. Her hair was the same raven colored hair as Xion, but longer and going over her shoulders, similar to Nami's. Her _face_ looked nearly identical to Nami's and Xion's.

Because Nami and Xion were close to the same person, being created somehow by this _Kairi_ chick, so I imagined this girl looking like all three of them.

Maybe I need to explain. Nami is Kairi's nobody, who was born at the same time as Roxas. Xion is a replica of Roxas created from Sora's memories of Kairi, thus rendering her so similar in looks, her face identical to Nami and Kairi.

But this girl looked like all three of them, I suppose, even though I hadn't seen Kairi, but Nami explained it a hell of enough times.

The next thing I noticed were her bright green eyes that really popped and made her look even more beautiful. Normally I could control my emotions, but seeing an old friend like this, as well as her natural beauty and resemblance to Nami, my heart was going a mile a minute.

I had _never_ been this way before. I tried to convince myself that this was Ven's heart talking, but I knew the foul truth. I had feelings for this girl, and for Nami. I had _feelings_. Darkness isn't supposed to _have _feelings.

A long silence had passed. Hayner, Pence, and Olette seemed to be intent on staring at Rika and I staring at one another.

Rika smiled and said, "Come on, not going to say anything? You remember me, don't you? Although, I'm pretty sure when we met, you hadn't had that face that you're wearing now. You had this bulky helmet thing."

"You two know each other?" Olette asked.

"Well, Vanitas, this is Rika," Pence replied before Olette could. "She's the newest addition to our group. You know, it's strange. Vanitas, you look like Sora a lot…" He then trained his eyes on Rika. "And she's a dead ringer for Kairi."

Rika tensed up. Her eyes looked to the ground. Was it something Pence said to tick her off? Why did she suddenly look like she was ready to punch a wall?

"I guess you can say I am closely related to _Kairi_," Rika said, returning to her smile. The smile looked a little forced. "Drop it, Pence." She then looked back to me. "Vanitas, was brings you here? Are you back with your Master?"

"No," I said quickly. I didn't want Hayner, Pence, and Olette to know about my powers, Xehanort, or my Keyblade. "So Rika…why are you here?"

"To investigate this mysterious ghost running around," she said smiling, winking at me without making eye contact with the other three. "You three, stay behind. Vanitas and I will go outside and talk."

Pence gave us a thumbs up, and Rika grabbed my gloved hand and dragged me outside out of earshot. "This _ghost_ may be related to the group of powerful beings known as _Organization XIII_. And of course it's not a _real_ ghost. It's obviously just a member who has a certain style."

"You've seen it?" I asked back.

"Only once, by that old mansion on the outer edge of Twilight Town," Rika replied. "I say we go there without the other three idiots following us." _Wow_, it didn't take her long to immediately become hateful towards the others. Was she like me? No emotions? "Are you gonna come with, or stand there gawking all day?"

"Fine, I'll go along, Rika," I replied with a sinister smile, making Rika smile with pleasure. "But tell me, why do you look so much like—"

"Save it for later," Rika replied. "I seemed to have spawned three doppelgängers. I'll explain it later, at the mansion. For now, we need to go." And I followed her. I had to know _how _she looked like Nami…as well as Xion and that other girl, Kairi, I was unfamiliar with.

.

**Did you like my new OC, Rika? WHY does she look so much like Kairi, Naminé, and Xion? Find out if you STAY TUNED!**


	11. Nightmarish Dusk

**Nightmarish Dusk**

I had followed Rika away from the Usual Spot and headed towards the main town, which in my opinion, had way too many people despite only seeing around nine civilians.

After passing a hole in the wall at the edge of the town, a cool wind hit me almost immediately. Where we stood now was away from the life of the town. Trees rose up all around me, with a single path in between the trees that led even farther away from the town.

"This is where the mansion is," Rika said, cutting through the eerie silence of the woods while she unzipped her jacket and let it flow in the breeze behind her. "Right beyond these woods is an old mansion where I sense the '_ghost' _is."

She walked forward, with me following closely behind. How could an eerie place like this be so calm and quiet? The trees swayed in a quiet wind that was a tad strong and whipped at my hair, causing a few of my spikes to be out of alignment.

"Gah, why are we even going there!" I yelled out in impatience, causing Rika to just laugh at my misfortunate hair, where some of my spikes were sadly straightened.

And finally we broke through the trees and the eerie woods. We felt warmth again, and the wind seemed to cease. In front of us was a grassy yard, with a gate that led to the huge mansion Rika had talked about.

"This place looks deserted," I muttered, and I could hear Rika face-palming in front of me as I stared upwards at the mansion. The windows on the top floor were opened, and the curtains billowed in a nonexistent wind.

"Of course it's deserted," Rika groaned. "A place like this _has_ to be deserted. They say this place was haunted. Or, at least, it was _inhabited _by two people a while back. One of those included Naminé."

"That's right," I said, finally remembering something. "Come on, Rika, _tell_ me how you look so damn similar to all these people!"

Rika laughed, rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms, saying, "In short…I am Kairi's darkness. Kairi is a Princess of Heart, rendering her to have _no_ darkness whatsoever. But there's an old expression from back in the ancient times. It says, '**_The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes._**' Because Kairi doesn't have an ounce of darkness in her, when she was born, her shadow, that's me, was created separate from her within the Realm of Darkness. My darkness mirrors Kairi's light."

"So you're basically like me, how I mirror Sora," I muttered to myself.

"Not entirely," Rika replied, and continued on, "Kairi and I mirror one another. If I become even darker than I already am, she'll become immersed in even more light. But! If I was to ever cross over and become a good, light user, Kairi will immediately become one of the dark. This is not the case with you and Sora."

I arched an eyebrow in utter confusion.

She continued, "While Kairi and I work separately to shape one another, you cannot in any way affect Sora, just as he cannot in any way affect you. You look like him because of the fact you were born from Ventus's heart, and Ventus had a connection with Sora previously. That's it. The same goes for the one called Roxas. Roxas looks like Ventus because of Ven's heart being inside of Sora. You are the doppelgänger of Sora, and Roxas is the doppelgänger of Ventus, while Kairi and I are doppelgängers of one another. That's how this goes."

"Alright, I think I understand," I replied. There was no way in hell I understood all of this, but I got the small details down. So this Kairi…was a Princess of Heart? And she has this shadow-self thing…Rika. Rika was a being of darkness?

"Then, if you're darkness," I muttered, my X-Blade appearing in my hand, making Rika jump and open her eyes wider in awe of this ancient blade. "Then you _must_ be a part of Xehanort's Organization XIII!"

"No, I'm not!" Rika snapped back. "The X-Blade…I haven't seen that in a while. I'd love to _take_ it from you!" In her hand appeared a dark purple Keyblade that was similar to the Soul Eater, Way to the Dawn, and Path of Darkness, except in the center was a large demonic red eye, and it had two sharp demonic wings on either side. "Dark Souls, my menacing blade!"

Lightning of a black color exited the tip of the blade and shot into the sky, causing dark clouds to surround the top of the mansion in a circle. The entire area was covered in darkness from underneath the clouds, while a circle of light shone from the clouds down onto the mansion.

Wind whipped around in a menacing frenzy all around me. Without warning, her Keyblade, Dark Souls, slashed towards me, and to defend I deflected it off of my X-Blade.

And then, within seconds, darkness exited the ground, throwing Rika and I off guard. The darkness swirled around my legs, grabbed onto them, and held me in place. They tried to do the same to Rika, but she jumped away from them and landed perfectly safe on top of the metal gate, completely balanced.

The darkness appeared in the center of the field in front of the gate, swirling in a vicious tornado until it stopped, and in its place was…an Organization member. But this Organization member seemed off.

It was the exact same cloak, except for a few differences. The hood is up, showing none of its face save for its disk-shaped red eyes. The Coat has magenta flame designs printed on the sleeves and around the bottom coattails.

"The ghost they were talking about," I muttered, staring down the dark creature. "But it looks like an Organization member!"

The dark creature's arms shot out to either side of him, and in his left hand appeared a magenta colored rod-like sword. The thing got into a battle stance.

"This being was originally created a long time ago…close to two years now," Rika said from on top of the gate, still remaining completely balanced. "In recent days, the Organization began using it within the Realm of Sleep." I wasn't sure what that place even was, nor did I care. "I call it the Anti-Black Coat. It's never shown its face before. It's possible that, despite those eyes, there is _nothing_ under that hood."

Anti-Black Coat? A strange name. Anti-Black Coat…ABC. ABC flung forward, swinging the sword at me. I quickly avoided it, somehow breaking free from its shadows, and the ghostly darkness user sunk into the ground and traveled along the shadows.

"A Nightmare that can conceal itself from its enemies," Rika continued.

I rose from the shadows in front of me and swung its sword at me, the tip of it barely slicing open my side. I felt the warm black blood in between my fingers and I held onto the wound on my waist. I wasn't even _supposed _to bleed!

With each step he took to run away from me and run back, darkness rose from his feet and the ground he once stepped on, giving him an aura of true darkness.

It jumped back at me, hacking and slashing its sword towards me. I don't know why, but this reminded me of my own fighting style. The way he sunk into the shadows and rose out of them in front of me to follow up on a devastating slash…it was a lot like my own.

So I then deflected each and every attack ABC threw at me. Finally, as if giving up with his slashing, it flew up into the air away from me, pointing his sword at me. Soon, lots of orbs of purple darkness blasted from the tip of his sword.

_Thousands_ of orbs now flew at me. I dodged and slashed at every one. With every slash, an orb would fade away, but more would take its place.

"Dark Firaga!" I screamed, and out of my free hand came a ball of black fire, which soon shot out at ABC. It cut straight through all of the black orbs coming my way, until it reached the Anti-Black Coat and collided with the creature's chest, sending him flying into the gate.

This made Rika barely lose her balance and she jumped off of the gate, landing directly in front of me.

"Good fighting," Rika complemented. "But I could _probably_ do better than that."

"Is that a challenge!?" I yelled out, and slashed my X-Blade forward, and she deflected it off of her own Dark Souls. While we continued to block every slash we had thrown at each other, we failed to notice that the Anti-Black Coat had vanished and reappeared in between us.

It was too late to stop. Our swords were heading towards one another, and while Anti-Black Coat stood in between the two blades that were soon to collide, the creature grabbed hold of both of them. Rika yanked her weapon back, as did I.

Suddenly, Rika jumped away from me as the Anti-Black Coat swung his sword at me. I tried to move, but my legs were trapped by the shadows again. I thought the sword would slice right through my head. The darkness user was aiming for my neck.

And then the clashing of two metals before me. I opened my eyes and saw that Anti-Black Coat's sword was blocked by a Keyblade. _The Path of Darkness_.

I gave both a sigh of relief and of annoyance at the person who had blocked the attack. Repliku stood in front of me, his Path of Darkness Keyblade pressed against the Anti-Black Coat's sword.

"Number IX, stand down!" Repliku yelled out. So this weird coated creature _was_ among the Organization's number. Number IX jumped backwards and held his sword out to Repliku menacingly. "Okay, none of that, Aros!" Its name was _Aros_? "We mustn't kill Target Thirteen! We need to preserve him!"

"So…fine then! Take me into captivity again!" I yelled out.

"Not on your life," Repliku said again. So he agrees that I should be taken into captivity, but he doesn't want to do it himself? "I saved you for you to do me a favor. Within this mansion, there's a room. Nami's inside. I want you to save her and get her the hell away from the Organization. Make sure she gets back to Sora's heart."

"Nami's here?" I asked in a surprise. "Wait…what exactly _is_ Aros?"

Repliku pointed a gloved finger to the creature that stood ahead of us, staring me down.

Repliku answered, "Believe it or not, Sora once became a Heartless. This is his Heartless." As if responding to Repliku, Aros removed his hood. I couldn't believe it. His face was completely blackened. His red eyes became golden, much like a Heartless's. And his hair consisted of the _same_ spikes that I had. It truly was his Heartless. "Sora's Heartless. I call him Aros. Well, we all do. Number IX in the Organization."

Aros jumped forward to attack me once again, but Repliku blocked the attack again, protecting me. "He can't speak," Repliku said. "He also isn't one for thinking. He just knows he has a mission to do. He _thinks_ his mission is to kill you. Even though we're trying to _get _him to _keep you alive_."

"Ah, touching, really," Rika said from back on top of the gate. "Does the little baby Organization member wanna have the big bad Vanitas save his beloved princess so the organization doesn't harm her? Oh, too bad. Maybe I can meet this Naminé."

She jumped off on the other side of the gate and rushed to the mansion, where she pried open the doors and entered the mansion.

"Rika!" I yelled to her, but she was beyond hearing. "Repliku, make sure this _thing_ does not enter the mansion. I'll go and rescue Nami. I'll make sure she gets to safety." I couldn't believe what I was saying, or what I heard exit my own lips.

I was developing feelings of my own. I was supposed to be all about negativity. I was incapable of _love_, _sadness_, or _anything_ else. But yet this feeling felt so right. Either it was Ven's heart I was feeling, or my own heart was glowing with warmth.

And I left Repliku to tend with Aros without another word. I jumped over the gate, rushed to the doors to the mansion, and entered the cool interior of the large mansion.

Standing not ten feet in front of me was Rika. I rushed to her, wrapped my arms around her, and pressed the blade of my X-Blade against Rika's skin. I looked to see her terrified face…but there was none. No face at all.

In a second, Rika vanished, and I felt the cold metal of Rika's Dark Souls against my neck, similar to how I had just done it to that fake Rika. I tried to move my head, but she kept my head locked under her arm and the blade causing a little blood to trickle from my neck.

"Smart move," I choked out.

"Oh, you liked it?" Rika asked. "You see, I've been working on a maneuver to catch my opponents off guard. This seemed to work, too!"

"Oh, yeah, I'm _very_ off guard," I mumbled under my breath. "Hey, I'd love to stand here immobilized for a few hours while you tell me how _awesome_ you really are, but I'd much rather shove this X-Blade down your throat and drown you in your own blood."

"Ooh, that's a little dark, isn't it?" Rika asked, and then pressed the blade further until four inches of her blade were inside my neck, making my black blood dribble out more than before. "How do I kill you? Slowly and painfully? Or should I just snap your neck right now?"

"You really are the complete opposite of a Princess of Heart."

That last remark sent her into a fierce and maniacally laughing frenzy. "You couldn't be more correct, little Vanitas! Can't you just _taste_ your own blood as it starts to drip down your throat?"

This was the first time I've ever felt like I was about to die. Even more so when Ventus had bested me all those years ago and sent me and the X-Blade vanishing into his light. This girl, whom I've met all those years ago, was pure evil.

I turned into just a shadow and sunk into the ground, being free from her Keyblade that was now dripping with my blood. Finally being free, my throat and neck repaired themselves and regenerated, and I could now breathe normally.

To describe the experience of sinking into the shadows, here it is. One, you feel like you're flying. Also, you can pass through solid objects and enter rooms undetected. And lastly, any wound you have is automatically regenerated or repaired, because everyone knows shadows can't be broken…or cut…or bleeding.

I rose from the ground right behind Rika, my new enemy.

"You're right," Rika said in defeat, her Keyblade vanishing as she held up her hands in surrender, slowly turning my direction. We then made eye contact. "I _am_ the complete opposite of a Princess of Heart. They're strong. They use the Light. However…"

Her frown soon turned into a wicked smile, and her hair blew about in a nonexistent wind. She raised her hands right above her head, and a flood of darkness was released from each hand, spiraling to the ceiling and causing a huge black hole of sorts to open up on the ceiling.

The ceiling was completely black now, and fire started to form all around the perimeter of the room. The fire turned to a black color now. Black flames spread around the whole foyer and around the legs of Rika.

Rika now held both of her hands out on either side of her, darkness still spewing out and colliding with the walls and windows, smashing every single one. "However, I'm the Princess of Darkness, and I use the Dark to get my way!"

Rika now seemed like a completely different person. And suddenly, I felt completely powerless. The force of this darkness had a strong pull on me. I fell onto my knees, clutching my throat. Now I had wished she'd have snapped my neck or shoved her Keyblade into my throat.

The darkness in the air welled up in my throat and I could barely breathe. I was even _made_ out of only darkness, but this darkness Rika was using was far too superior, not to mention deadly.

My skin was burning. My clothes spontaneously combusted and lit up in black flames, exposing my skin to the dark air. My vision immediately became a blurry mess, and I could barely see Rika walking towards me.

Even my skin caught on fire. The black flames rose up my body. My dark suit was supposed to protect me from the darkness. Clearly this was an even stronger darkness. One to be afraid of.

As I closed my eyes and drifted off into my subconscious, I felt Rika grab my neck.

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**And if I didn't make this any clearer in the previous chapter, Rika looks EXACTLY like Kairi, except she has black hair and green eyes, and different clothes. Other than that, an EXACT resemblance, exactly like Vanitas to Sora. Did you like this chapter? PLEASE REVIEW! And if I didn't make myself clear, the reason Rika's darkness is SO strong is because her doppelgänger, Kairi, has a heart with NO darkness, thus making her shadow, Rika, even stronger. REVIEW!**


	12. At Dusk, I'll think of You

**At Dusk, I'll think of You**

I wanted to say that I was dead. That this torment was over. Or that someone kind and compassionate like Ventus or Nami could have saved me. Or at least have someone who has grown accustomed to my darkness, like Xehanort, save me. Or even have the Organization XIII capturing me once again.

But sadly good things never came to those of the dark. Not even others allied with the dark will show you the least bit compassion. I seemed to be standing up on my own, the air around me seemingly lifting my back up so I wouldn't fall.

A sort of egg shaped, cylindrical glass wall was all around me, and the light from the room outside shined in the blurry glass. Though I could see the light on the other side of the glass, everything beyond that was a messy blur that I didn't have enough time to try and see.

After noticing my surroundings, I caught on to the next thing about me. I was completely stripped of my clothing, the cold air stinging at my naked body. I tried to take a step forward, but immediately my bare foot slipped and I fell onto my ass with a thump.

I put my hand on the cold glass in front of me, and let out a howl of anger. But for some reason, every move I made seemed to hurt me. I finally noticed that up and down my arms and legs were scars and burns. Had the darkness been _that_ overpowering before?

And then I punched the the glass wall…except nothing happened but pain in my fist. _Pain_? I was about to punch it again when the pod I stood in slowly opened, several parts of the front opening up in different directions.

Of course, Rika of all people stood in front of my pod. While I was naked. I didn't bother to cover myself when Rika sneered, "Is this what you wanted? To be stripped of everything you stand for in order to see _that_?"

The pointed to the side, and I saw a pod on the side of me. I could see a little more on the inside from the outside than I could when I was on the inside looking out. I saw, in the blur, a body—naked like me—with blonde hair, her blue eyes shut. _Nami_.

I held my hand up, but as soon as my hand went further than the opening in my pod, a jolt of electricity—or at least that's what it felt like—coursed through my body until I retracted my hand in pain.

"Okay…" I mumbled, _very_ agitated. I held my hand out to the side of me, but a burning and shocking sensation filled my entire body as I tried to summon the X-Blade. I _couldn't _summon it. I tried to create my dark suit, but it had caused me severe pain in trying, so I stopped. "What's your game, Rika?"

"You really should pay attention more," Rika said with an evil smile. "I'm the Princess of Darkness, and I would love nothing more than to shove my Keyblade down your throat and make you cough out and then eat your own heart."

"All bark and no bite."

"Did you even _see _what happened to you, Vanitas!?" Rika shouted in anger, stomping her foot. "I put you here! I do have bite!" She drew her Dark Souls and pointed it menacingly at me. "Let's see how you feel when you're _chomping down on your heart while soaking in a bath of your own blood_!"

A red and black beam of light rocketed out of her Keyblade and aimed straight for me. I couldn't even dodge this attack. When all hope was lost, the blast suddenly diminished into thin air.

Rika smirked. "I _would_ like to do that, but I have orders. And I can't get my munny if you're dead, sadly. It was fun while it lasted, torturing you like this." I scowled, attempting to summon the X-Blade again, but I was filled with that horrifying pain once more. "Don't even try. You can't wield that sucker anymore."

"And why the hell not!?"

"Because I'm its rightful owner as of now," she said between wicked laughs, and appearing out of the darkness spawning in the palm of her hand was a single glass cup of a black liquid. "You're blood seals the deal. Normally the Keyblade chooses its master, but if I drink your blood here, I'll be chosen, as I will have a part of you inside of me."

What was she talking about? Drink my blood…to obtain the X-Blade? Is that even possible? Was this chick demented?

She raised her glass saying, "Bottoms up!" And then she immediately started drinking the blood in the glass, staining her teeth black. I winced at how easily she was able to drink that. She held out her hand and yelled out, "Come forth, X-Blade!" As she said the legendary name, the X-Blade had appeared in her hand.

"No way," I had to breathe my words out as if I couldn't even speak. "Impossible."

The X-Blade vanished from her hand, and Rika just started laughing to my face. "The world is mine," she said, giving the air a hint of tension. "And once I'm done, I'll make sure that you, and the Organization are dead."

A hiss filled the air, and Aros of all things rushed passed my pod, slipped passed Rika, and vanished into a swirling portal of purple darkness.

Repliku then walked passed my pod, his eyes locked on Rika. "So it was you? The one the Organization hired?"

I couldn't believe this. Rika was working with the Organization. She _captured_ me for them! Rika then replied, "Well, I've got your precious _Target Thirteen_ in that pod, where he can't escape."

Repliku arched an eyebrow, looked at my direction, and I still didn't try to cover myself. Repliku darted his eyes away so fast I thought that his eyes would roll out of their sockets.

"Can you at least let Naminé go?" Repliku asked, trying his hardest not to look in my direction.

"Oh sure…" Rika said, looked at me, and grinned wickedly. "Vanitas or Naminé. Which is it gonna be?" This chick wasn't seriously making him choose? "I'm dead," I whispered to myself.

"I choose Nami, of course," Repliku said. He looked to Nami, avoiding my gaze. "Let her go before the Organization does anything to her." He looked to me with a frown. "I don't care what happens to Vanitas. Kill him for all I care."

"Hold up, before anyone does anything!" I shouted out. "Rika, why can't I go into my dark suit!?"

"My darkness is restricting your own darkness," Rika said. "Earlier, when I attacked you with my darkness…it entered your body and is currently cutting off circulation of your darkness. The effect should wear off in at least a day. Maybe longer."

She raised her hand, and the pod holding Nami immediately opened up, and Rika threw Nami her gown which landed on her head. The poor girl fell over and out of her prison. She grabbed at the floor, trying to pull herself up.

She quickly slipped into her white gown without much thought. She stared at Rika with wide eyes and mouthed the word, "Kairi", obviously recognizing this devil child as someone she wasn't. "That can't be right…who are you?"

"An angel, sent from above to save your sorry ass," Rika replied swiftly, and Nami scowled. "Ah, you see, I had the choice of saving you, or Vanitas, and this _replica_ chose you. It's your lucky day, Naminé."

Nami then turned her attention to me. Without even trying to hide her eyes from my obvious nudity, she rushed straight to my pod and wrapped her arms around my neck.

In my ear, she whispered, "Make sure Ventus does not get put into the Organization's clutches. Once he is, the both of you may cease to exist. And then Roxas will fade away for good, possibly Xion as well, being a replica of Roxas and thus a replica of Ventus…along with Sora's ability to wield the Keyblade. He'll be normal again."

"So this all comes down to me and Ventus," I sulked my head in despair. "If I fail in keeping Ven's heart from them, we'll obviously be killed, along with Roxas's existence and Sora's ability. So basically it comes down to me, then."

"I need to get back to Sora's heart so Roxas can wake up," Nami replied, removing her arms from my neck and staring into my eyes. "Maybe you can save Ventus…and save Sora and the rest of us in the process."

Repliku tensed up at that, and shouted back, "So you're putting everything on Vanitas? Xehanort will either capture him for good, or kill him!"

"Vanitas can do it," Nami spoke in a soft voice. "He may start to grow a heart of light. A powerful heart. With Ven's influence. I have faith." She laid a kiss upon my cheek.

I felt a warmth inside of me…not Ven's heart either. An actual light that came from within my foul darkness. I had true emotions now.

A single tear trickled down my cheek. A _tear_? What was happening to me? I couldn't even describe this feeling of happiness washing over me. I wasn't supposed to _feel_ in the first place.

"Please remember, I'm your friend," Nami said, placing a hand over my heart. "Think of me now and then. Think of us. Your friends."

Without my complete will, my hand was laid atop Nami's head, playing with her hair as she spoke. When I spoke, what I said was what I was really feeling.

"I will," I said, looking into the blonde's eyes. "At the end of the day, when all's said and done…at dusk, I'll think of you, Naminé."

Nami smiled, putting my hand in hers, and in seconds, she vanished in a flash of light, and a warm light flooded passed my heart and into Ven's. She was going to reappear back in Sora's heart.

And for that brief moment, I saw Nami reappear in the treehouse. Almost immediately, Roxas shot his head upward with a sudden gasp, breathing heavily as if he had just died and came back to life.

Xion quickly gripped the blonde boy in a hug as if she had lost a dear friend, and looked over to Nami. Nami wore a sad smile and was still silently crying at what I had said to her before.

And then my eyes snapped open, Rika staring at me beyond my pod. I found my hand wet with tears. _Tears_. A few days ago, I had wanted to get away from my four annoying cellmates back in Sora's heart. Now I felt differently. Like they're lives actually _meant_ something, as did mine.

But if that wasn't enough, my hatred for Xehanort burned even brighter. This was more than just revenge now. He was planning on hurting _everybody_ that me and Sora are connected to. Two could play at this game.

I had to slaughter the entire Organization XIII.

Appearing out of a corridor of darkness was Isa, his permanent scowl staring down Rika. "You let Naminé get away," he growled at Rika. "We had a deal. You were to bring us Vanitas, but _not_ interfere with our overall goal."

"Times change, Blue," Rika replied with a laugh. She stretched out her hand, and a corridor of darkness appeared behind me, and the pull was so strong I was immediately drawn into it. My last bit of vision saw Rika vanishing into her own portal. She had _saved_ me?

While I flew around within the darkness, through my eyes, I could now see, in a vision of sorts, back in that room with the pods. Isa was watching the portals vanish for good.

"Damn her!" he yelled, and then looked to Repliku who hadn't moved. Repliku looked obviously upset that Nami hadn't told him a goodbye. "And you—how could you ask Vanitas to save Naminé instead of capturing her!?"

He immediately grabbed hold of a fistful of Repliku's silver hair and threw the teen to the ground, but a portal of darkness appeared underneath the replica, and Repliku teleported out of there.

Isa was alone. A corridor of darkness opened up to the side of him, and Braig walked through.

"So sorry, Scar Face, I know what happened here in Twilight Town was supposed to be under _your _control, but it looks like you failed to keep the Broken Replica and Shadow Sora in check. On top of that, Nega Boy is gone and the Blonde Witch is back in Sora's heart."

"Shut up," Isa said, finally showing the angered emotion in his face. "You, Number IV… take Number V and quickly follow wherever that corridor of darkness leads to before the connection is lost."

Braig saluted at Isa and started vanishing into his own corridor. "Alright, I'll make sure that Number V and I can reach Vanitas. Ciao." He was completely gone.

Isa looked ahead at the pod I was in previously, and he shouted out, "_Why does everything I do fail_!"

My vision ended, and all I saw was darkness. Suddenly, light cut through the darkness. I was in another world. But where?

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**Did you like this ending to the Twilight Town arch of my story? Which world will Vanitas be at next? Review!**

**.**

**Next time... Vanitas finds himself in a familiar world where he meets four people who surely have a connection with Xehanort. Will this be the time Vanitas finally realizes he ****_has_**** a heart? Meanwhile, Braig and ****_Number V_**** track down Vanitas. What will happen? Stay tuned!**


	13. Radiant Showdown

**YEAH, happy thirteenth chapter, everybody!**

**.**

**Radiant Showdown**

Radiant Garden. The City of Light. This just _had_ to be my next destination. Why had Rika chosen this place as my next stop? I tried feeling around my body. I was certainly no longer naked, which was a relief, but then I noticed something odd.

The clothing I wore was kind of baggy…they weren't as skintight as my dark suit. I wore a normal white t-shirt with black fire flame designs going from the bottom of my shirt to around my sleeves. I wore simple black jean shorts that were a little baggy. My feet were covered by black and white flip flops.

I felt my hair. _God_, my hair was the one thing about me that stayed the same. I stood up, and took in all my surroundings. The place certainly looked different from how I left it after my battle with Aqua over here. In fact, I was in the same small courtyard that Aqua and I had faced off at.

Most of the buildings looked rusted and not as shiny as they once were. There were some areas that looked brand new, however. If I had to guess, this place was under construction. White disks of light rose from the ground and then vanished.

I eyed the strange sight when a voice broke the silence, "That's the Hollow Bastian Defense Mechanism." I turned around and saw a teen girl with short black hair and a type of throwing star attached to the belt around her waist. She reminded me of a ninja. Her shirt was short and rose up a couple of inches above her short shorts, revealing her belly.

I looked away from her quickly and said, "I'm new here I guess…my name is Vanitas."

"Yuffie," the girl replied in a happy tone. Despite the changes made to my dark heart, I still felt the need to scoff at all of these happy people of the light. Why did _they_ deserve to be happy? She then squinted and said, "Sora…? No, you can't be Sora."

She looked to the ground, when I piped up, "I guess I am related to Sora." She looked back to me and smiled. I had to come up with something. "Um, I can't really talk right now." I looked up at the direction of the castle. Ansem the Wise's castle. The one that was most likely abandoned due to Ansem's absence. "I have to get to that castle."

Before I let Yuffie say another word, I had hurriedly started rushing to where I felt the need to go. Not long after and I was already wandering the ruins around the humongous castle.

As I stared up at the castle, I tried to summon my dark suit. Nothing happened. I held my hand out to summon at least my Void Gear, but it only pained me to do so. Rika's darkness was still in effect.

I had found my way around the outside of the castle, taking in how different everything looked since my decade-long absence. Towards the back I had seen a sign on the wall, reading "Castle Postern".

It was there I noticed a small open doorway, beckoning me to go closer. When I did, I was encased in the shadows of within the huge castle.

I wish I could describe everything I saw before me, but there were too many corridors to count, winding around the inside of this place. I had finally reached a small red door within the only spot that had enough light for me to see correctly.

I opened the door and walked inside the room. It was a quiet library of sorts, books scattered all around, on shelves and on the floor, with several picture frames and writing on the walls. A large picture frame of a person hung on one of the walls.

The largest painting in the room, of course it drew me in. When I got a full view of his familiar face, though sporting silver hair and brown eyes. I had come to my conclusion. Whoever it was, it sure sent a lot of questions into my head.

"Terra," I said quietly, running my hand along the picture. No wonder I had reached here so quickly. The picture frame of this Terra-faced, silver haired person seemed to call out to me. And here I was, standing in front of it. The face…how was it so much like Terra?

As if I had suddenly realized the silver hair he sported, I had finally begun to see and nearly jumped in surprise, inching my face ever closer to the painting. "Xehanort?"

"And how do you know Xehanort?" a voice asked behind me, causing me to whip around to see the figure who arrived.

He had bright aqua colored eyes, though only his left one is clearly visible, the right one being covered by his long, layered bangs. His steel-blue hair sports messy bangs that completely cover the right side of his face, reaching about an inch or two past his chin.

He wore a lab coat with sleeves that seemed to be just a little too long. "And you are?" I asked the man, who looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old.

"Ienzo," the boy replied. "You still have never told me; what is your history with the man on the wall there. Certainly there is quite a story behind the two of you, right?"

"I'm Vanitas," I replied, ignoring the question. I decided to throw him a bone and said, "Xehanort…well, um, Master Xehanort…was my master. I was his apprentice. He didn't look like this guy, though. He was an old man."

"He's never once spoke about you, Vanitas." Okay, regardless if he'd just forgotten or never bothered to tell, that just plain hurt. "And old man, you say?"

I rested my head in my hand. This was getting us nowhere; he obviously didn't know of Xehanort's real past. But I decided to say, "Xehanort, the real one that I knew, wasn't this guy. Or, maybe he was, but…" It then hit me suddenly. "Xehanort placed his heart inside of Terra's. This gave birth to the man you see here."

"Terra is one of the names we hear often," Ienzo sighed. "Xehanort…well, after he created our group, the Organization XIII—" I looked Ienzo in the eye with true hatred all of a sudden. "He began speaking of his missing three _old friends_. Terra was among the names."

"Organization XIII?" I asked. I then thought back to what Dulor had said. He was one of the _veterans_. "In case you haven't noticed…" I said, walking closer to Ienzo. "There's another Organization XIII working under _my_ Xehanort."

Ienzo's eye opened wider and he said, "So there is…"

"Ienzo, Dilan and Even are stirring," a gruff voice said from the back of the room, and stepping out of the doorway leading somewhere else was a tall, buff man in a type of blue guard's uniform, sporting short auburn hair and blue eyes. "Who's the boy?"

"Aeleus, this is Vanitas," Ienzo replied, looking at the older man. "And are Dilan and Even completely conscious?"

As if on cue, the door opened and stumbling out of it was a man with long, platinum blonde hair with bangs that framed his face along with large green orbs for eyes. He too was wearing a lab coat. He clutched his head and tried opening his eyes as they still had remained closed.

"Ienzo…" His voice was a little slurred, obviously showing his tiredness. He stood up straight, staring at the young man intently. "We're back…we're people again." He focused his eyes on Aeleus and said, "You too…so it's true. The Organization is no more."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Even," Ienzo replied, hurriedly rushing to the blonde before the man had fallen over again. "Xehanort is still active. He's create a secondary Organization XIII. As if he replaced us."

"How could he replace me!?" Even shouted at the top of his lungs. "I was Number IV, a superior member! And then Axel had to go and…wait…Axel!" He kicked the table that was to the side of him and Ienzo, and the table flew against the wall and nearly broke apart. "He murdered me in cold blood!"

"Calm down, Even," replied a fourth voice. They just keep coming, don't they? The fourth one, who I supposed was Dilan, entered the room.

He had a similar body and uniform to that of Aeleus. His hair was long and black, put into dreadlocks. He opened his eyes, showing a stunning purple color. He had really thick sideburns. He also appeared to have a little bit of an accent.

Even hung his head down and said, "I know I should calm myself, Dilan, but Number VIII _killed_ me!"

"He helped aid in my destruction, and yet I still thank him," Ienzo spoke up, trying to soothe Even. "Without his help I would not be here right now."

"He will still pay," Even replied angrily. He then focused all of his attention on me. "My, my, who's the little boy with the striking resemblance to Sora, hm?"

Was there a single person Sora _hadn't _met? "Vanitas," came my response. "Xehanort is a much greater deal than any of you realize. He's cruel, manipulative, a lot like how I was, only this guy would toss aside his closest friend like dirt." Of course I was talking about myself, but did they have to know?

I continued, "Master Xehanort, a man wise beyond his years, searching for the great Kingdom Hearts, working side by side by one of his creations! He sent that creation straight to his doom, while in the meantime, he placed his heart within the one known as Terra. And this Terra-Xehanort fusion gave birth the Xehanort you four recognize in this picture."

All four looked up at the picture of Terra-Xehanort, Terra's face and Xehanort's hair color unmistakable.

"And this is the person who created the first Organization XIII," I finished. "Now something happened to make this Organization go poof; gone with the wind. To make up for that, Master Xehanort apparently has returned and has created another version of the Organization XIII in which each member harbors a piece of the old man's heart."

"And just _why _are you telling us all of this, Vanitas?" Even asked rudely.

"Because," I replied. "You four are to help me find Xehanort." This was a large step for me. I wasn't going to ever go this far, but in order to _get_ to Xehanort, I had to find people who had _met_ Xehanort. Because the Organization wasn't helping me too much in my search."

Ienzo looked at me suddenly, as if studying me intently. "Within you, I can sense a…power."

"Power?" I asked. "What kind of power?"

"A power most similar to that of the ancient Keybearers of the past," Ienzo replied, studying me even more intently with his one exposed eye. "Keyblade?"

"I'm a wielder myself," I chuckled silently. "Don't believe me? Then here you go…" Hopefully this worked. I held my hand out in front of me, and suddenly, I felt a powerful surge of darkness coursing through my veins, and in my hand appeared none other than my Void Gear. "Yeah, baby!"

"A Keybearer," Even said with a smile. "You really are a doppelgänger of Sora. Then you must know the boy, correct?"

"I've heard of him," I spat back. "Enough about that…I've got to find Xehanort, and fast. And you four can help me, as I said before."

A corridor of darkness appeared in front of the picture of Xehanort, and I quickly jumped away, yelling, "The Organization!"

When the corridor completely vanished, there was Braig, as I had known already that they'd find me. Braig and Number V. Ienzo immediately shouted out, "You!"

"Me," Braig replied back cockily. His sudden entrance caused a dark aura to fill around the room. Something about this guy made me want to rip his throat out. "When I came to find Vanitas, I hadn't known I'd be running into you four."

"Braig, so you're with the new Organization?" Even asked, glaring at the man with hatred burning in his eyes. "Xehanort didn't toss you aside like he did the rest of us?"

"Oh, don't worry," Braig replied. "Isa and Dulor are also a part of this Organization." This didn't make Even feel any better, it seemed. "As if you guys were actually worth something. Dilan made it farther than the rest of you three and yet he was still tossed to the curb. Like trash." Dilan scowled. "Come on, Number V, show your face already. I can't hog all of the spotlight. Oh wait, I can."

A second corridor of darkness appeared to the side of Braig, and stepping out of it was a man who still had his hood up.

"This heart belongs to the darkness," the man said. It was the same deep voice of the guy who tried to take me out of Sora's heart a while back.

"All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end." This speech was seemingly headed in the same direction as that of Xehanort's Heartless. "The Heart is no different." He held his hand out, darkness forming in his hand. "Darkness sprouts within it—" The dark orb in his hand grew larger. "—it grows—" The darkness spiraled out of his hand and then dissipated. "—consumes it. Such is its nature." He put both hands on his hood and slowly lowered the hood. "In the end, every heart must return to the darkness whence it came."

The man staring at us was none other than the man in the picture on the wall. Terra-Xehanort, the cross between Terra's body and Xehanort's heart. The only difference between this man and the one in the picture was that this one sported Xehanort's golden eyes.

"Xehanort!" Dilan shouted, anger forming in his eyes.

"You're the one," I said, finally realizing. "You're probably the only Xehanort who knows where the _true_ Xehanort really is! Terra…Xehanort…um…? Wait…Terranort." That was the name I would dub him from now on.

"Precisely," Terranort replied, looking not at all fond with the name of 'Terranort'. "I do know where he is, but I cannot say. I have to be loyal to myself." Poetic excuses. "Vanitas, come with us so we can tell you the real reason we've been trying so hard to capture you."

"Why can't you just tell me now?" I asked, pointing my newly acquired Void Gear at the man, feeling my rage and hatred for both Terra and Xehanort build up inside of me. "I'm in an extremely foul mood!"

"Something's different 'bout ya, Nega Boy," Braig replied evilly, staring at me with his one good eye. "You're in a foul mood? According to Mister Master over here, you don't own moods, or emotions. Aren't you supposed to be the personification of negativity, or something like that?"

Braig's partner didn't seem at all interested in what he was saying. As if trying to ignore the annoying man's weird way of taunting me, he looked at all four of the others in the room.

"Original Number III, Dilan; Original Number IV, Even; Original Number V, Aeleus; Original Number VI, Ienzo…" Terranort quietly mumbled. He then looked to Braig, and then put a hand over his heart. "All six of us…we're here. Once again, after a decade, our original selves are together once more."

"Can you even be _considered _an _original self_!?" Even shouted. "From what the boy here speaks about, you were created from the conjoining of a young man's body and an old man's heart. So you, yourself, have two original selves as of now."

"Exactly," Terranort said in the same monotonous voice he's been using. "My two original selves gave birth to me. I took the name Ansem, surrendered my heart to the darkness once more, and with it I created Xemnas."

Suddenly I felt as if I had the entire story of Xehanort's story. I ran all of the information within my head to recap.

My master, Master Xehanort fused his heart within Terra's body to give birth Terranort. He had met these other four along with Braig in Ansem the Wise's castle…as his apprentices. _Xehanort_ was the one who banished Ansem to the World that Never Was. Then Xehanort gave up his heart to create the being known as Xemnas, as well as Xehanort's very own Heartless.

Xemnas along with the other five apprentices were in the original Organization XIII, but they nearly all met their ends. Now a new Organization XIII was born, from the revival of my once so-called _Master_.

At least that's where I hoped the story was over. Unless there was a whole lot more to it than that. I rose my Void Gear into the air and inspected it. It's appearance hadn't changed since the last I used it, in Sora's Heart, but for some reason holding it seemed a bit _off_.

"And we are not only here for you, Vanitas," Terranort replied. "There's another thing here that calls our attention. I promise you, if you come along with us, I will show you Xehanort. The _True_ Xehanort."

A part of me wanted to trust him; to follow him. But the other part of me, Ven's part, screamed at me to back away. But I knew I could trust this Terra-Xehanort fusion. The Terra part of him seemed impossible to _distrust_.

"Follow me," Terranort suddenly said, walking passed me and to the other door at the back of the room. I followed him, Braig walking closely by my side to make sure I hadn't run off.

As I made my Void Gear disappear, we left the four other apprentices behind. Dilan and Aeleus had watched in pure silence. Ienzo looked at the back of us in confusion, while Even seemed to be seething with pure anger.

Passed this door was a glass walkway in an empty, open space that hung above a large chasm. As I followed Terranort, we entered a room that held a computer on the right wall.

Terranort dug for a disc that was on a shelf to the side of the computer, and slid the disc into a slot on the computer. The computer screen went from black to a light blue, where the words 'Now Loading' popped onto the screen.

A single box appeared on the screen after that, which must have been a place to type in a password. Terranort typed in the word _Another_.

The box vanished, and was replaced by a dark circle with six boxes all around it, showing the use of six passwords in order to go further into the system. What Terranort was doing was beyond my knowledge, but I had to keep watching him.

In each of the boxes, he typed in the six passwords. In the one on the top left, he typed in _Xehanort_. In the middle left, he typed _Braig_. In the bottom left, _Dilan_. In the top right, _Even_. In the middle right, _Ienzo_. In the bottom right, _Aeleus_.

If Vanitas memorized their order correctly, Terranort had typed in Ienzo before Aeleus, even though from what he had heard, Aeleus should have been first. Maybe this was to throw off some people who would try to break into the system.

The circle and the boxes with the passwords vanished, and the words flashed on the screen _System Start_.

Immediately, the screen changed to that of…well, I couldn't be sure _what_ I was looking at. Covering the screen were open documents, research papers, and the big bold letters in the background, _D.T.D._, with in faded letters underneath, _Door to Darkness_.

"Everything's still here," Terranort said with a satisfied smile. "Not a single piece of data was messed with." He turned, facing another door in the computer room with was already open. "Come, Vanitas."

"You heard him!" Braig yelled behind me, and shoved hard on my back, pushing me forward even though I was still going to follow anyway.

So the three of us walked beyond that door and found ourselves at a staircase leading downward. We went down, landed on flat ground, and turned to the right to walk a few more steps down, where a large glowing light lit up on the flat ground before us.

Terranort stood on the light. When I saw what was ahead, I had no idea how all of this fit inside the castle. A huge open corridor with a bright light at the end, symbolizing something that must've been there.

The floor passed the light on the ground opened up like sliding doors, and a flat ramp led the way down; the three of us continued to head downward, the floor closing up above us.

When we arrived at the bottom of the ramp, we were on a gray, glass walkway that spiraled downward to an abyss below. How long was this spiral ramp anyway? It seemed to go down forever.

A red symbol was on the floor below us, but I wasn't sure what that symbolized. The ramp that we had just come down from vanished in a flash of light.

"We can only get down here via access to the D.T.D. System," Terranort said. "I've kept this place secret, even from the other apprentices. Ansem the Wise knew about it but said it was off limits…but I don't care nor have I ever listened to the old fool."

We started walking down the spiral ramp, the farther down we went the darker it became. As we walked down, my legs already tiring beneath me, we continued talking. "So why am I coming down here?" I asked.

"To give you some inspiration to come with us back to the Badlands to await Xehanort's arrival," Terranort replied. "If you want to see the old man so badly, then I'll give you what you want."

What seemed like an hour, we had reached our end, where a single sliding door was. As if on cue, the door parted and showed us to a small corridor inside.

The corridor had a simple blue tiled floor. Lining the walls were several doors, each with windows covered by bars and chains covering the bottom of the door. To ensure that nothing would escape. What had he kept down here?

At last we reached the end of the corridor, where the door slid open. Terranort and Braig stood on either side of the door, allowing me to enter.

When I did, it looked like a small, circular throne room. Black markings looking like chains and some kind of symbol lined the walls and floor, connecting everything to the single throne in the center of the room.

Terranort walked into the room and sat on the throne, both arms on the armrests, and every chain and symbol on the walls and floor glowed white.

I kept walking and…what I saw, I could not believe. On the floor, in a pile of bits and pieces, were the remnants of the Keyblade Armor that _Aqua_ wore.

"What is this!?" I asked confusedly. Why was this here? "Is that Aqua's armor? Why do you have it?"

"Here is the little incentive that will drive you to come with us," Braig answered, chuckling. "I didn't know this was here until recently…man, what a treat! Aqua's armor, here for the taking."

"Taking?" I asked.

Terranort stared at me through golden eyes and said, "_The three lost Keybearers shall light the way to the forbidden path where the forgotten legend unveils itself._"

Repliku had said the same thing to Nami and I in Castle Oblivion. What did the _three lost Keybearers_ even mean? And what _forbidden path_? All these questions ran in my mind.

"The three lost Keybearers," Braig replied, sensing that I was unsure of what that riddle meant. "Ventus, Aqua, and Terra? Can't you remember that all three of them were lost for good? Ventus fell asleep, Aqua was trapped in the Realm of Darkness, and Terra's body and heart were taken by Xehanort while his mind remained inside his armor."

"There are a few setbacks," Terranort muttered uneasily. "Aqua's in the Realm of Darkness and we can't free her because it is not her time to go. So we needed a Plan B, and here we are with her armor. The next setback is that I, essentially, am Terra, as well as Xemnas and my Heartless half. We can't use either one of us because we are needed in this Organization. So our last plan is to find Terra's armor, the easiest of the three to find."

"And once we have what remains of Terra, Aqua, and Ventus—the first two's armor and the last one's body—" Braig started, emphasizing what he was saying by twirling his hands in the air. "—we'll have the three key components to unlock the Forbidden Path, which tells us a deeper legend centering around the great Keyblade War."

"So you _used_ me to find Ventus for this one purpose," I finally realized. "You've wanted Ven for a while now, haven't you? Just to further your _own _agenda? You realize if Ventus dies, I'll fade from existence as well."

"We don't want you dead, imbecile," Terranort snapped at me. "What we want is your cooperation. You're undying loyalty. And the promise that you will _not_ kill Xehanort."

He was telling me to cooperate_and_ keep Xehanort alive? The bastard has everything coming to him! It's only a matter of time before either me or Sora kills him. And I had to kill Xehanort in order to save…ugh…my _friends_. Suddenly the word _friends_ didn't seem to feel weird thinking about.

"Now, Aqua, the time has come," Terranort said, standing up, and _Xehanort's Keyblade_ appeared in his hand. He pointed it at her. "We need to take you now, old friend."

Before he could do anything, four consecutive corridors of darkness appeared one after the other, releasing Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and then Ienzo.

"Just because we've been recompleted," Ienzo said, staring at Terranort. "That does not mean we've lost the powers you've had us obtain!" In his hand appeared a book. A _book_?

In Even's hand appeared a giant blue shield that covered most of Even's body. "Let's take down Xehanort once and for all! Because nobody tosses a Superior member out like trash!"

In Dilan's hand appeared a single lance, and suddenly, out of thin air, two more appeared in his other free hand, while the other three flew about in the wind around him.

Aeleus shouted out a sort of battle cry, and a red energy flowed around his feet and the ground seemed to shake beneath him. A giant Axe Sword, or Tomahawk, appeared in his hand.

Aeleus was the first to attack. He jumped forward at Terranort and swung his tomahawk, but Terranort quickly dodged it by jumping over it, falling to the ground behind him. Behind Aeleus, he swung his Keyblade, which soon collided with Even's shield, which was now blocking Aeleus so Terranort couldn't hurt him.

Even, behind the shield, yelled out, "Xehanort, quit this madness and give up while you have the chance! It's four against one!"

"Oopsy daisy, you seemed to have forgotten me," Braig said from the corner of the room. In his hand appeared two odd looking guns. "But I'll let it side."

He slammed the two guns together, and the back end of both of them seemed to connect, the front end that would fire the projectiles pointing in opposite directions. Out of both points on either side, came two pink lasers in the shape a pointed sword, with jagged teeth. An odd and mysterious Keyblade.

"The Freeshooter," Braig said, eying me who was staring at his newly acquired Keyblade. He held onto the center of the two guns in the middle. Braig had a double-edged Keyblade made out of two connected guns.

He jumped forward, and expertly swung his blades at Aeleus, who blocked every attack with his tomahawk, and Even, who stood his ground behind his shield.

Dilan somehow manipulated the air, and the three lances that flew around in the air each fired at Braig at around a hundred miles an hour. Braig simply vanished into thin air and reappeared behind Dilan, slashing his Freeshooter, the blade landed straight on Dilan's shoulder and causing him to bleed.

Ienzo stood behind, not fighting, staring into that book of his. When he lifted his head up, he raised his hand into the air, and a blue beam of light shot from it, landing square in Braig's chest.

He toppled over backwards, only to vanish and reappear right to the side of Ienzo, who jumped away and floated off of the ground, defying gravity.

Suddenly, around Ienzo, there were four duplicates that looked _exactly_ like the original Ienzo. Each held a different color book, and each attacked Braig.

Braig twirled his double-edged Freeshooter and connected the laser blades with each of the four clones, causing Ienzo to conjure up even more, only to have them struck down again.

At this point, I had no idea which side I was _really_ on. I didn't want to work with the four apprentices against Terranort and Braig, and I didn't want to really work _with _the two.

Terranort jumped into the middle of the room and let out a battle cry. And the same Heartless creature that Xehanort's Heartless had owned, the Guardian, escaped from Terranort's back and flexed its muscles in the air, staring down the four apprentices.

"Guardian, attack!" Terranort shouted.

The Guardian vanished and reappeared out of the ground in front of Aeleus and Even, grabbing each of them in its meaty hands and lifting them into the air, causing them to drop their weapons.

The Guardian threw the both of them into Dilan and Ienzo, and the four hit the wall with a thud. The Guardian vanished for good.

"Maybe now I can turn each of you into Nobodies again!" Terranort shouted. _Nobodies_? I didn't bother wanting to know what those were. Terranort would've ran at the four who lay against the wall in pain, if it weren't for the corridor of darkness that was appearing in between them.

"Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?" a voice echoed through the room, and a man walked out of the portal, sporting spikey, flaming red hair and green eyes. He wore khaki pants and an orange jacket, with a white undershirt underneath. Around his neck was a yellow and black checkered scarf.

"Axel!" Braig shouted, obviously annoyed.

"Okay, I'm gonna let that one go," the man said. "But anyway, it's _Lea_, not Axel. Completely different scenarios." He looked to Terranort. Look who decided to show. Xehanort. The Terra and Xehanort fusion."

"Lea, what took you so long!" Ienzo shouted in clear annoyance, trying to stand up.

"Lea, you _killed_ me!" Even shouted, standing up and glaring menacingly at Lea.

"Lea didn't, Axel did," Lea said. This Lea was obviously a part of the original Organization XIII. "Also, guys, how do you like my clothing? I ditched the black cloak for something…more my style."

"I don't care what clothing you wear," Terranort scoffed, pointing his Keyblade to Lea. "It doesn't change the fact that I would _gladly _kill your Somebody again to bring back Axel, and to bring back _all _of you people as Nobodies."

"And I'll gladly tear you limb from limb for all the pain you caused everybody," Lea snapped back, an evil smirk on his face. "Get it memorized!" He jumped at Terranort, and in his hand appeared a Keyblade. The blade and teeth appear as a translucent streak of yellow-orange flame, and the handle was straight with what looked like a red Chakram around it.

His Keyblade clashed with Terranort's. Terranort pushed harder with his blade, and Lea simply retracted it and swung it again even harder, but Terranort jumped out of the way.

"We've wasted too much time as it is," Terranort said, holding his free hand out, and a portal of darkness appeared underneath Aqua's armor, and the Keyblade armor sunk into the darkness, the darkness vanishing with it. "Vanitas, we need to go."

Lea focused his attention on me and said, "Wow…your face looks like Sora. I'll keep it memorized…Vanitas?"

"That's the name," I replied. I looked to Terranort. "I'll follow you to see Xehanort, so I can finally meet him after all these years."

"And you need to hurry," a raspy voice said, and appearing out of a corridor of darkness was Isa. He smirked slightly at the sight of Lea. "Hello, Lea."

"Isa!" Lea shouted angrily, and ran at Isa with his Keyblade outstretched. Isa simply blocked it with his own weapon, a blue claymore.

While this was happening, I couldn't quite decide what I should do now. I couldn't give up just yet. I couldn't go straight with Terranort…what if he was lying? There were many possibilities. I had to find him myself.

I held my hand to the side of me, and a corridor appeared there. "Grab him," Isa said, and Braig ran to me.

I jumped into the corridor, and it closed before Braig had entered. And through my eyes, I could see what was going on outside of the darkness.

Braig yelled, "He got away!" He looked to Isa, then to Terranort. "Let's go report to Xemnas." Braig vanished within darkness.

Terranort smirked at the four apprentices and Lea, and vanished himself. Isa made his claymore vanish, and he looked at Lea with a frown.

As Isa vanished, Lea shouted, "Damn you, Isa! I'm supposed to help bring you back!" But Isa was gone, and Lea's Keyblade vanished. "Of course…he hates me."

And my vision ended. All I saw was the darkness around me. I looked at the clothes I wore. I kind of liked them…they weren't as tight as my dark suit, and for some reason the darkness didn't hurt my skin.

While traveling in darkness, I felt a tug at my gut. I was being directed somewhere. But where? A world then floated before me that I had never been to before. On the circular world, I saw buildings as high as the eye could see, a lot of water that the buildings were on top of, and I could tell there were a lot of people there.

I had never seen this world before, nor had Xehanort ever talked about it. It didn't matter. Wherever this was, I was guided to it without my own free will, so it must've had _something_ related to Xehanort there.

Maybe I could find Master Xehanort faster by trusting the feeling in my gut, rather than follow Terranort to god knows where.

Here I come, Xehanort. I hope this world is of some significance.

.

**Hey, I have three important things to tell you here! First, of course, is the usual "REVIEW" thing, so, um, review, please. Secondly, I will not be taking any more OCs. And thirdly, I will probably not use any of the OCs I was given. Why? Because it was a hell of a lot harder trying to find places for them in my story, that it would look like my story with just a few sentences from my OC, then a lot of story stuff happens, and then the OC starts talking again and its like "oh yeah, forgot about him/her". SO...**

**I will not be using them...UNLESS I could find some room, which is a ten percent chance. Sorry if you REALLY wanted me to use your OC. Anyway...REVIEW!**

**Also, if you are not familiar with the Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix cutscenes, that is where I got the secret room with Aqua's armor. It was seen in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. Check it out if you wanna see it.**

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**Next Time: Vanitas finds himself in a world that is original to my own mind. There he sees a lot of things showing someone he's met from the past. There is no Organization XIII interference in this chapter. Stay tuned!**


	14. Destruction and Ruin

**Destruction and Ruin**

I could most certainly tell you that at this point, emotions were running high. I was completely unsure of whether to go with Terranort or go on my own. Something had urged me to go on my own. Within the darkness of my subconscious, Ventus and I were having one of our daily meetings.

"Ventus, your body is in grave danger," I said, speaking to the glowing form of Ventus who floated in the darkness, a glowing aura around him. "If they kill you, I'll die. Sora will also lose his Keybearing power. This will ensure that _Xehanort_ will win."

"Haven't you been listening?" Ven echoed back rather rudely. "They won't want to kill me because they want _you_ alive! They obviously have plans for not only you, but for me, Aqua, and Terra as well."

Ventus had a point. "Was it you who urged me to go away and go to whatever the hell this next world will be?"

"No it wasn't, but when you felt that urge, so did I," Ven replied. "A powerful darkness wanted you to escape from Xehanort, so here we are."

I opened my eyes, getting out of my subconscious chat with Ventus. Just as how the world looked from above, all around me I saw buildings—tall skyscrapers extending ever closer towards the orange sky that was littered with pinkish clouds.

I stood on a bridge that hung over a lake—a rather large lake that sparkled in the glow of the dark purple moon above me. In fact, the lake was large enough to hold all of these buildings. The water rushed passed each of the buildings, each street being flooded with water.

Normally this would be a bad thing, but boats traveled across each flooded street like everything was normal.

"A beautiful place, isn't it?" I had already known what had brought me now, and the voice who spoke was far too familiar, though I didn't expect to see her so soon.

"Rika," I said without turning around. "I still have some of your darkness in my system. You made me come here."

I finally turned around to see Rika, who hadn't changed since last I saw of her. "Correct as ever, Vanitas," she said, smirking at my presence, and looking up and down at my new clothes. "Nice outfit, though I admit, the Dark Suit made you look a _little _sexier."

"Says the girl who stripped me naked," I snapped back.

"It went away with your dark powers and especially the X-Blade."

"Which you still have."

"Which you do not own anymore."

I scowled at her. "So," I said, quickly changing the topic of conversation. "Which world exactly are we? Master Xehanort had never taken me here."

"Utopia," Rika answered, spreading her arms out as a calm wind brushed through our hair. "A world consisting entirely of buildings and water. They say it used to be completely on land, until the largest flood happened. But they found a way to enjoy their endless flood."

The sounds of voices were a little irritating, but, dare I say it, this place was _calm_. Calmer than places like Traverse Town and even Radiant Garden.

"This world may seem peaceful, but it gave birth to some of the most rogue, the most dangerous Keyblade wielders," Rika said, hanging her head over the bridge to look down at the water. "I know everything about this town. Back in ancient times, a very ancient and powerful evil, the darkest Keyblade user, was born here. Back to right before the Keyblade War."

This piqued my interest. I hadn't heard much of the Keyblade War's lore other than it was a battle for the X-Blade and Kingdom hearts.

"The darkest Keybearer, Domino, lead a battlefront within this world at the age of seventeen," Rika started. "The battlefront was to use their Keyblades to break through the barrier of this world in order to go to the most famous world, which is now dubbed the Keyblade Graveyard."

It used to be the most famous world?

"You see, a powerful warlock cast a spell on this world that prevented travelers from coming in and out. So Domino trained these other Keyblade wielders in the art of darkness, and they broke through the barrier and headed for the Sanctuary, a beautiful and populated world filled with light and Keyblades galore. Once in Sanctuary, Domino spoke to all of the Keybearers about a powerful and mystical land known as Kingdom Hearts, and eventually, his influence caused others to follow in his footsteps, and people began fighting for the light, in order to reach the heart of all worlds."

I was never told of _any _of this. Why now was I just hearing about how the Keyblade War _really_ started?

"These people grew darkness within their hearts, and those who wanted to protect Kingdom Hearts had hearts of pure light," Rika continued. "And you should know what happened. The two sides eventually destroyed one another, littering the battlefield with Keyblades, in the place now known as the Keyblade Graveyard. Domino took his last stand and died there as well, his mission unfulfilled."

"Why had you told me all of this?" I asked, confused. "What do you want from me?"

That's when Rika laughed. "I saved you from that pod as well as guided you here for one reason. Things changed. I now need help to destroy Xehanort." I arched an eyebrow, confused as to why she wanted _me_ to help her. "I think he's trying to resurrect all of these Keybearers to fight for him."

"Why would he do that?" I asked. He _had_ his Organization. Why would he need more fighters?

"Why does Xehanort do anything?" Rika answered me with another question, though she made the point very clear. "Forget it for now…I wanna test your strength."

I looked around on both sides of me. There was nobody else on the bridge, so I looked to Rika and smile. "Bring it on, Rika."

"Oh no, I'm not fighting you," Rika said, and I was a little confused. Before I could ask her why not, she raised her arms in the air and darkness sprouted from beneath her feet, spawning several Shadows, Neoshadows, and a singular Invisible. "They are!"

The first few Shadows leapt at me. Immediately I drew my Void Gear and slashed at them, and on impact, they each exploded into liquefied shadows, signifying their defeat. The Neoshadows vanished and reappeared behind me…Ven's heart seemed to kick in because I soon held my Keyblade backhanded and swung behind me, eliminating two of them.

There was one Invisible and one Neoshadow left. I jumped into the air and slashed at the floating Invisible, killing it. For some reason, killing and slicing through the Heartless wasn't as exciting as I remembered it. At last I killed the last Neoshadow.

Almost immediately after my Void Gear vanished, a car roared past, a paper that was attached to the car's back flew off and fluttered in the light breeze. When the car exited off of the bridge, it floated on the water like a normal boat.

I picked up the piece of paper from the air. On the bottom of it, in big bold, red letters, it read 'WANTED'. The person on the wanted sign was a familiar face. I couldn't take it anymore. I tried to stare at the picture harder to make sure it wasn't him, but it was.

The person was Malik Kamikaze, a guy I had left for dead at the hands of Julius when I was in Traverse Town. This was his home world? Does this mean…I was the one who killed him? Did I still get the reward money? I had to shake those thoughts out of my head.

I looked back to Rika. She wasn't there. _Where_ had she gone? How did I not notice? Oh yeah, because I was too worried about this wanted poster for Malik, a guy who I might as well have killed. He didn't look any different, except that he wasn't wearing his sunglasses, so I could see his pale pink eyes.

"That's him; that's the one!" I heard a voice yell very near. I then noticed someone at the end of the bridge, pointing a scared finger at…me?

And then a police car roared past the man and stopped ten feet away from me. What was going on? I shoved the wanted poster in my pocket, just as two guys stepped out of the vehicle.

I had been to more than enough worlds to know that the police show no remorse when they're…arresting people. And that's what they looked like they were doing.

The man on the left took a gun out of its holster and pointed it menacingly at me. "Put your hands up and walk over here _slowly_."

He made sure to keep his distance. I did the polite thing to do. I asked, "What's the problem, officer?"

"You're under arrest, of course," the policeman growled, inching closer and training his gun over my heart. "Now walk over here, your hands behind your head."

I then chose then to disobey the law. I raised my hand, but before I could summon my Void Gear, I felt a piercing pain through my chest, narrowly dodging my heart. I clutched the spot that was in severe pain, and when I checked my hand, it was stained black with blood.

"You shot me?" I asked. "Some law you are!"

Another three shots. Two in the legs, the other in the shoulder. I fell onto my knees in pain. My vision got blurry as I felt a needle—a sharp one too—sink into my neck. "That should suppress the power, Demon."

The needle was removed, and I couldn't even feel Ven's heart, my Keyblade, or my darkness anymore. I felt my hands being restricted…in hand cuffs.

Just like the Organization's, these handcuffs were bound by powerful electricity that would shock me if I tried to escape. I closed my eyes. I had blacked out.

When I awoke, I was sitting up, still handcuffed, in a chair in a dark room, a light shining down on me. A man in an all-black uniform sat in a chair in front of me, staring at me with cold eyes.

"Why…am I here?" Here I was, the great Vanitas, one of the darkest beings in the universe, arrested for something I probably hadn't done.

"Are you just beginning to learn the rules now?" the man scoffed. "You know. Any and all Keyblade wielders are not allowed to show their powers or else they get arrested and have a death sentence."

I gasped at that. "A what!?"

"You heard me," the man replied. "The Keybearers, several decades ago, brought ruin to this place. They killed my grandma and grandpa after they had my mom, and they could've lived longer lives, rather than dying at sixteen. They flooded this place and drowned hundreds, all in search of _freedom_. Worlds are meant to be kept separate."

"And who exactly are you?"

"The President of Utopia," the man replied. "Call me Kirito Kamikaze."

"Wait…" I said, in utter disbelief. "You're Malik's _father_?"

"Brother, actually," Kirito replied. "Why…you know him?"

"I…" I muttered, and then figured, if I was going to die anyway, I should at least tell him something to piss him off. "I killed him, in another world. He's dead."

"So it was you," Kirito muttered, and then looked into my eyes. "But just because you did society a favor, does not mean I _won't_ send you to get killed." _What_? He _wanted_ his brother to die? "The Keybearer shatters peace and brings ruin. It was they who sunk the streets, and who unlocked our Keyhole which in turn let others in. Like yourself. We have no room in our world for you or your Key!"

And then, I'm pretty sure I blacked out again. Because when I opened my eyes, I was in a sort of cell. Four walls all around me, a door bolted shut as well as a window that was also shut by metal. All around me, there were at least four others.

They all looked scared out of their minds. Except for one guy, towards the back. He seemed calm, his blue hoodie covering his face. I made my way to him. When I sat beside him, he didn't acknowledge my existence.

"Where are we?" I asked. I felt the ground…it felt almost _wet_.

He finally looked at me, and beyond his hood I saw dark brown eyes and a dark tan. "The Keyblader's Prison. Keybearers are not allowed in this world, so as soon as they snuff one out, they end up here, to their deaths." He removed his hood and I saw a bald head underneath a dark beanie.

He was around twenty-eight years of age. He looked to me and smiled, saying, "I'm Dara, by the way. My mom and dad are Keyblade wielders…they automatically assumed I was one, and here I am."

"I'm Vanitas. And how exactly do they kill us here?"

"Drowning us," Dara replied, looking to the ground that was soaked with water. Now that made sense. "We're about a couple hundred feet underneath the Great Lake…in a special containment unit that keeps out all the water. Until they open the hatches."

He pointed up, and I looked up and saw a circular hole covered up by metal. I looked back to Dara, who was moving his hand around in the air.

He then said, "They had already killed off my closest friend. It was only a matter of time until I was put here as well."

Before another word was spoken, the circular metal hatch above us immediately opened up, and water shot from it and landed on some elderly woman, causing her to fall over.

"Oh, no," I breathed out, suddenly scared for my life. "I can't be here! I have to find Xehanort!" And almost immediately, the bolted window opened, and standing on the other side was, of course, Rika. "Rika!"

I rushed to the window and stared at her. Everyone else and Dara looked extremely confused.

"Why hey, did someone get arrested?" she asked in a sarcastic voice, laughing. "Oh wait, you did."

"You set me up," I replied. "You guided me here and then _pretended_ to let me train while someone spotted me with my Keyblade, and then you were _gone_ and I was arrested."

"Ooh, right on the money," Rika replied. I heard the splashing of water behind me, realizing that I was now ankle-deep in water. "I can't have you fighting Xehanort. If I kill you here, Ven's heart goes with you, Sora loses his Keyblading skills, Roxas vanishes forever, the Organization loses what they so desperately desire, and _everything_ will work out in my favor."

"What's your plan!?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to die before you know," Rika laughed, and closed the window shut.

I walked back to Dara, who was confused as to who that was. "I _thought_ she was my friend, or at least an acquaintance, but she tricked me into using my Keyblade here. Then I was caught."

"Then she's not a friend," Dara replied, putting a hand on my shoulder. "A real friend is someone who would stay by your side, no matter what, even in death."

While standing up, the water had reached my waist, and was rapidly rising. Though it shouldn't had made me sad, my heart was becoming overwhelming now, causing fear to rise up in my throat. It had even made me sad when two of the people here had committed a double-suicide by drowning themselves. They couldn't wait for the inevitable.

All that was left was an elderly person who had passed out, then Dara who remained calm with a hand on my shoulder. Which was now soaked in water. My shoulder was underneath water. _This can't be happening_…

As the water touched my neck, the coldness of the lake touching my warm skin, all hope was lost.

_At dusk, I'll think of you, Naminé._

When those words repeated through my head, I realized I couldn't stay here. My fear was replaced with absolute anger, and darkness started swirling around my body.

"Whoa," Dara muttered, looking at the darkness floating around me in the water. "You're a…darkness user?"

I wanted to tell him _get used to it_ but no words formed. I gritted my teeth as a pain I never knew existed started burning my skin from the inside. "Gah!" I shouted, clutching my head as a powerful darkness coursed through my skull.

And then the water rose above our heads and rose upwards even faster until it hit the ceiling. I couldn't breathe. Dara looked like he might pass out. When he opened his eyes again and saw my condition, and how I was writhing around in the water, unable to hold in my dark powers, he swam straight for me and grabbed a hold of my stomach, keeping me still.

And then the darkness blasted out of me. I thought my extreme powers were gone…until I looked before me and saw the water swimming with the _Unversed_ that had escaped from my darkness.

Dara refused to notice this and continued holding me still. All of the water was black as night, and I couldn't see Dara. And I felt myself slip away.

When I opened my eyes again…we were on dry land. A bunch of nearly drowned Unversed were scattered around us. I stood up shakily, noticing Dara lying on the ground to the side of me, gasping for air and spitting up water.

When I looked at my surroundings, I couldn't believe it. I would have hoped that my darkness would've destroyed that cell we were in, but that could've made us drown faster.

Where we were now, was a place I had been to before. A dimly lit black sky with a moon shining from the horizon of a huge, black ocean, waves lapping gently at the shore.

_The Realm of Darkness_.

"Where are we?" Dara asked, standing up and spitting out more water. "Did you destroy that cursed place? Wait, are we dead? See, the Keyblade _does_ bring about destruction and ruin, all because of you people's _darkness_."

"You're forgetting the fact that I just saved your life," I retorted, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, I have dark powers, but there's a heart of light inside of me." Whether or not I was talking about Ven's or my own didn't matter in this situation. "This is the Realm of Darkness."

Dara _had _given a sigh of relief, until the name of this place was brought up. "The Realm of _what_?" He stared at me in disbelief. This was going to be a bumpy ride.

.

**How did you like this chapter, and this world that apparently has ****_only_**** seen the bad side of Keyblade wielders. Thanks for the OC (one of the only ones I'm taking), ****_Star-Shaped-χ_****. I hope I portrayed Dara well enough even though we hadn't seen a lot from him yet. Sorry if I disappoint. So, what challenges await in the Realm of Darkness?**

**.**

**Next Time: Vanitas and Dara are now trapped in the Realm of Darkness, and there seems to be no way out or any kind of cheat that could lead to their freedom. Vanitas is reunited with Aqua and a revived Ansem the Wise, but the reunion is cut short by the Organization's presence, who this time, are not looking for Vanitas. Stay toned!**


	15. Coexistence of Light and Dark

**Coexistence of Light and Dark**

"The Realm of _what_?" Dara stared at me in disbelief. He put a hand over his mouth and said, "Please tell me you aren't actually suggesting that we're _in_ the Realm of Darkness."

"Okay, we're not actually in the Realm of Darkness," I said, playing along. "We're on the border between the Realm of Darkness and the Realm Between which means we're still steeped in darkness, my friend." This didn't make Dara feel any better.

Dara paced back and forth, and I was unsure what I could say to keep him calm. I raised my arm, and all of the Unversed vanished. I snapped my fingers, and a single _Flood _Unversed appeared before me. I had missed this power. I awaked it somehow…by awakening my negative emotions back in that cell? The Flood vanished.

"The place looks so peaceful to be in the Realm of Darkness," Dara said, staring at the sea longingly. "My parents taught me to fight for the light, defend the light, and utilize the _light_. They told me that the darkness is to be feared…but I don't fear this place."

"That's because sometimes, you _can_ trust the darkness," I replied. "I have—um, I _had _a heart filled with _only_ darkness. You can get used to it."

"Trust darkness?" Dara asked, approaching me slowly. "You wanna know what killed my parents? The darkness itself, in the form of the people who sent them to that chamber. I was only five." He kept walking toward me, and my Void Gear appeared in my hand, dangerously close to his throat. "I'm not scared of death, Vanitas. My only fear is being swallowed by the darkness."

"Yet you have a personal vendetta against darkness," I said, and Dara scowled. "Trust me; you'll be safe here on this beach."

"I know I will," Dara replied, and extended his hand out, and each of his fingertips glowed with light. "I've never had a reason to use my power over light, but here, maybe I can use it…on you!"

He shot his hand out, and a ball of light shot my way. I swept my hand through the air, and the ball vanished, replaced by darkness which shot at Dara, making him fall to the ground. I grabbed him by the torso of his hoodie and lifted him up into the air, our faces inches away from each other.

"You have potential powers in your hands," I said, feeling anger tense up in my heart. "Sadly it's all wasted on someone like you."

"I would be stronger if I had a partner," Dara spat out. "Sadly, the last one I had was killed, thank you very much."

I dropped Dara, and then offered him my hand, in which he decided not to grab, helping himself up. After he stood up straight, the yelling of a girl broke through the silence. "Vanitas!"

I whipped around and clashed my Void Gear with the Master Keeper, Aqua forcing all of her might onto Void Gear, though I proved to be victorious when I came out stronger and slammed the Master Keeper into the ground.

"Now that _Xehanort's Heartless _is gone," Aqua started. "I can finally focus more on getting Ven's heart back."

I laughed, and then said, "Aqua, Ven's heart is inside of me now. We're kinda sorta working together to bring an end to Xehanort."

"Is that so," Aqua said, looking down on me with suddenly sad eyes. She looked into my eyes, and I felt the warmth of Ven once again, and Aqua gasped. "You're telling the truth. Ven is there, inside of you." She _felt _Ventus's light?

"Now I'm extremely confused," Dara said from the side of me. "Someone is _inside_ of you? How is that possible?" I had refused to answer.

"Who is he?" Aqua asked, raising an eyebrow at the man beside me. Dara introduced himself, and Aqua smiled. "Dara, as in _Star_. Where are you from?"

Dara answered, "Utopia, a world that Vanitas—" He glared at me. "—had found me at. And here I am…I guess I should be grateful; he had saved my life. We almost drowned." Aqua nodded with a smile.

"You have to bring Ventus back to Sora's heart," Aqua replied, causing Dara to jump. Maybe he thought that another heart being involved was too much to handle. After all, he probably didn't believe half of the stuff we were saying. "If people like Xehanort's Heartless return here, they could kill you, and who knows what'll happen to Ven."

"Thanks for looking out for me," I muttered. Wait, no, that wasn't right. _I_ hadn't said that. Ven's voice escaped my lips, causing Aqua to gasp in surprise. Ven's voice then continued to say, "Don't worry, I'll be fine with Vanitas."

Aqua fell to her knees, holding a hand over her open mouth. "Ven…" she muttered in disbelief, holding her other hand out to me. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, he can," I replied, trying to mentally, and rather spiritually, shove Ven's heart to get him to stop butting in to Aqua and I's conversation. "That's the first time he's took over. I will return him to Sora once the threat of the Organization is over."

"So who is Sora?" Dara asked. Great, I could just feel the massive explanation on who Sora is. The Key to all Worlds? The Savior of the Multiverse? Protector of the Light? Xehanort's Greatest Rival? He was called many things.

Aqua took the plate and replied, "Sora is the greatest boy alive. He's saved the worlds from darkness twice before. He's helping in the aid to destroy the greatest foe to mankind." Dara gave a satisfied smile. "I met him when he was four… him and his pal, Riku."

That's right! I had forgotten Repliku was a replica of Sora's friend.

"He sounds like a big deal," Dara replied. "Um, can you tell me which world he's from?"

I took that one. "He's from the Destiny Islands," I said, receiving a weird sort of mixed reaction on his face. "His heart harbors those who have all but lost their true selves. He is our savior too. Because I was there."

Dara put his hands behind his head and laughed rather nervously, "Hey, maybe we should, like, find a way out of here."

"If I'm not scared of the Realm of Darkness," I muttered. "…then I doubt a grown man like you would be scared of such a thing."

Almost immediately after I said that, the ground beneath us started shaking, the black sand being brought into the air and swirling around, stinging our eyes. And then Ansem the Wise showed up, still wearing that black cloak.

He had run from a certain direction farther away, and he rushed to Aqua and took her hands in his. "Ansem, what's going on?" Aqua asked.

"There's someone breaking the barrier of the Dark Meridian," Ansem said, revealing the name of this beach. As if on cue, several Shadows and Neoshadows started rising from the ground. "And the Heartless are entering! This can't be good…the border of the Realm of Darkness and the Realm Between is supposed to be protected."

Dara looked confused by the man's sudden appearance, as well as the appearance of the dark creatures. "Are these _Heartless_?" he asked. "We have to do something! And Vanitas, I don't care if you don't like me, but I'm taking matters into my own hands. "What was your name…Ansem? Take Aqua and get to the shore. Vanitas, you're helping _me_."

Ansem rushed Aqua to the shore. Dara was out of his mind. He held out his hand, and his finger danced with light, a ball of light soon appearing in his hand. And as he would a ball, Dara threw the ball of light and it smacked straight into a Shadow.

The Shadow shrieked in an agonizing voice I had never heard before. Did the light hurt it _that_ much? Several more balls of light were thrown into several more Shadows.

"Vanitas, _you can help me_!" Dara shouted at me.

"Fine!" I shouted, and darkness exited my body, the ground littering with Flood Unversed as well as some more higher level Unversed. I extended my hand out, and each of the Unversed attacked their own respective Heartless. But more kept appearing.

In my outstretched hand appeared my Void Gear, and I swung it through the air, coming into contact with an Invisible. And then a blur of darkness leapt past me, almost knocking over Dara if he hadn't jumped out of the way.

I focused my eyes on it. Bounding towards Ansem and Aqua was that Unnamed Heartless, who I've now dubbed Red Eyes. Aqua saw the beast coming, held out her hand, with Master Keeper appearing in it, and she created a ball of light from its tip which soared through the air and collided with Red Eyes, though the Heartless kept running.

I ran for the beast. But I was too late. Its claws met with Aqua's face, causing her to throw Master Keeper into the water, and it magically started drifting away.

"What the?" Aqua asked, not concerned about the claw marks and blood leaking down her face, and more concerned about the Master Keeper, which seemed to glow with a white aura as it disappeared beyond the horizon. "Where's it going?"

I then noticed something peculiar. A man in a black cloak stood atop Red Eyes, his arms crossed and his hood down revealing Terranort. Why was _he_ here?

Ansem then yelled out, "I remember! _Xehanort_, you fiend! What do you want here!?"

"Not to take Vanitas," Terranort said in his monotonous voice, as if answering the question on my mind. "I'm here for you, old master."

"Could someone please explain to me what's going on?" Dara asked, obviously confused about the scene.

_Xehanort's Keyblade _appeared in Terranort's hand, and he pointed it directly at Ansem. "I didn't want to do this, but the Superior is giving me no other choice. It was his plan all along. Banishment here was only to have you await your inevitable fusion with Xehanort."

"What does that mean!?"Ansem screamed.

Terranort clutched his heart, and then pointed the Keyblade even more menacingly at Ansem. "You are one of us!" A glowing orb appeared around the tip of the blade. A _heart_. The heart blasted off of the tip and flew to Ansem, clashing with his chest and vanishing within darkness.

"No!" Aqua screamed out.

Beyond his hood, I saw his amber-orange eyes melt into a complete golden color. He has now been _Xehanorted_.

"Wise Ansem is now ours," Terranort said, slightly smirking. "He has a piece of Xehanort within him. Ansem, come forth."

"I had not expected the Organization to take me," Ansem said calmly. "I wanted revenge on Xehanort. Xehanort's heart inside of me, however, has made me regain the lost memories that were long forgotten." He faced Terranort. "You can take me all you want, but Xehanort's heart has not taken full effect yet. You cannot have my loyalty."

"But you see, you are going to give us your loyalty," Terranort said, and Ansem held his hand out. "Xehanort's heart is quick to work. You might not like it, but deep down, you are _extremely_ loyal to Xehanort. You, _Number VIII_, are now _ours_."

In Ansem's hand appeared a black an orange Keyblade, the blade and teeth being completely black and the rest orange. The handle was shaped like a crescent moon, which was black, intertwining with a sun, which was orange.

"Dark Dawn," Ansem replied, and pointed it straight to me.

Terranort chuckled and muttered, "We got what we came here for. I'm not going to force you, Vanitas, to come with me. That is something you should do of your own volition." He looked to Ansem. "But let's test out how loyal our new Number VIII is to Xehanort."

I saw a shiny tear trickle down Ansem's hooded face, and he said, "I'm sorry, Vanitas." And then he ran at me, showing a speed that a man like him shouldn't possess. He swung Dark Dawn at me, and a bright white light appeared in between the two of us.

Ansem backed away slightly, retracting his Keyblade. Standing in between us was Dara of all people. His arms were outstretched to either side of him. He said, "Stay back. I've been training for this moment my whole life."

What was Dara talking about.

"To fight off the darkness and ensure that Sora remains in peace," Dara spoke calmly. What did he mean _ensure Sora was in peace_? What did that mean? Before I could ask him what he meant, he held his hand out in front of him, a single dagger in his hand. "The darkness will not have me, or Sora. I will not allow it."

"What are you—?" Dara didn't allow me to continue speaking.

"The only way to keep him safe is to work against this _evil_," Dara said, glaring at Ansem the Wise who still wore frown behind that hood. "Evil like this should not exist in this or any world. I will work to purge the darkness. Vanitas, make sure Sora remains in safety. Get back to Sora's heart, with Ventus, and protect Sora."

Why was he being so defensive on one boy that he had never met? Then it hit me. Though I stayed silent and let Dara continue.

Light started emanating off of his dagger. And it elongated into a completely white, Keyblade-shaped weapon made entirely out of light.

"It's not a real Keyblade," Dara muttered. "But this is my power of manifesting the light into a visible object." He pointed it to Ansem. "I'm not doing this for you, Vanitas, I'm doing it for Sora. My…" A saw a tear fall down his cheek. "…my son."

"You're _son_!?" I snapped at him. This guy was Sora's father all along? Why was he in Utopia and not the Destiny Islands? "How is that possible?"

"Sora was born," Dara replied. "I was so young…yet I met the perfect girl. I was at least twelve…I'm not proud of getting her pregnant that early, but we were a perfect match. After Sora was a year old, I couldn't even take care of him. I left him with my girlfriend's parents and I fled to another world with my parents. They wanted to get to see the worlds out there, and eventually we settled in Utopia."

"So Sora doesn't even remember you," I replied. His story sure was tragic.

Apparently this entire story was boring Ansem, because he swung his Dark Dawn again, only to clash with Dara's Light Keyblade.

"This darkness needs to cease to exist," Dara replied. His Keyblade vanished. "I will light the way! Sora will be safe from the dark!"

A white aura seemed to surround him. He looked back to me, winked, and then all I heard was a piercing screech that was enough to break glass. Dara's entire body was now encased in nothing but white. Ansem backed away quickly.

And then…the entire area exploded in a white color. I could see an inch of darkness anywhere. Then the white vanished, and all I saw were Aqua, Ansem, and Terranort. Red Eyes and the rest of the Heartless had vanished, and Terranort had fallen to the ground. Ansem had landed on his knees and was clutching his stomach in pain.

It hadn't hurt me though, a being filled with darkness. Dara didn't want be to hurt. Aqua was staring at something in front of me, and I looked down to Dara, who was lying softly in the sand.

He opened his eyes slowly, and mumbled, "I want to protect…Sora. I was never there for him. I couldn't even raise him." I looked at him, seeing light swirling around his body. He saw me staring and said, "I had put my entire being into attack. Get to close to the light, and it can sometimes be harmful. My heart is fading away." He coughed. "Light and dark should be in coexistence…you can't have one without the other, it seems."

He had a point there.

"I'm out of time," Dara muttered slowly, starting to glow white. "Take me…to Sora…"

And his body became a million particles of light that flew up and scattered across the skies. A single, white and yellow circular heart floated in his place, floating ever closer to me. At last, it touched my chest, glowed a bright white color, and then vanished.

I felt a rush of warmth within my body. Was I harboring _yet another heart_ in my body? I felt Dara's presence even though he was no longer alive. His heart _was_ inside of me.

Terranort brought himself up and walked to Ansem, putting a hand on his shoulder as dark tendrils opened up beneath their feet, wrapping around their bodies.

"You'll come to us when the time is right," Terranort said softly, and he and Ansem had vanished.

Without much thinking, I rushed to Aqua and held her hand, and almost instantly, the deep cuts in her face started oozing out darkness, and eventually, the holes and cuts were closed. My darkness had healed her.

"I could have used _Curaga_, you know," Aqua muttered as I helped her up. "Dara, he was Sora's father. I can't believe it. Is he dead?"

"I'm afraid so," I replied. "His heart took residence in my heart for now. He wants me to take him to Sora." Aqua put her hands on her hips as if expecting me to be lying. "Aqua, listen, I _will_ take him with me to Sora's heart. Him and Ventus."

"And you?" Aqua replied.

"I need to find Xehanort," I replied, and a corridor of darkness opened up behind me, and I slowly walked backwards and stepped into the darkness. I didn't dare tell her that Ven, herself, and Terra were in danger. I couldn't. I vanished within darkness.

Inside the darkness, I heard a voice to the side of me say, "I knew you would try and find him again. You wouldn't be able to sit still in the darkness for that long." A black hooded man with the voice of Xemnas. He lowered his hood and showed me his amber-orange eyes and silver hair that was very similar to Terranort's style. "As you might know, I am _Number II_, Xemnas."

The darkness vanished from around us, and I found myself surrounded by dark buildings, a dark sky above us. Each building gave off enough light for me to see.

"Where are we?" I asked.

Xemnas chuckled and said, "Welcome, Vanitas, to the World that Never Was."

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**Did you like this chapter? Well, it seems like Ansem the Wise is now member Number VIII. Also, I had killed Dara off, but only to progress the story. And just a reminder, your death does not end your story in the Kingdom hearts series. Look at everyone else who seemed to die. They are still up and about in one form or another. Tell me about the plot twist of Dara being Sora's father, and what you thought of it!**

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**Next Time: Vanitas is being held in the World that Never Was temporarily by Xemnas, Braig, Isa, and Dulor. While wandering around, he sees the one girl that he wished he would have to never see after what she's done to him. What will Vanitas do? Stay tuned!**


	16. The Battles that Never Were

**The Battles that Never Were**

I would say that the endless amount of buildings and skyscrapers were kind of comforting, and that other people were actually here, but I could not detect a single _living_ soul. In the center of it all, where I was, there was a huge skyscraper that seemed to have a lot of screens on top of it, emanating with blue light.

Standing on the steps in front of the skyscraper was Xemnas, looking at me with a smug smile that I'd love to just smack off of his face. "This large expanse of a building is Memory's Skyscraper, the tallest structure in The World that Never Was."

I didn't care what this place was called. I just wanted to find Xehanort and get out of here. And then a green beam of light shot at my feet, landing on the ground directly in front of me. I looked up, and floating above Xemnas, upside down with his Keyblade-Gun hybrid pointed at me.

He flipped backwards and landed on his feet next to Xemnas, smiling at me with a glare that was far too powerful for someone with only one eye.

"Okay, so let me give you the play-by-play," Braig muttered, twirling his finger through the air as he talked. "We're going to summon our Nobody forces to subdue you, you're going to pass out, we're going to capture you…_again_… and then you can meet the oh-so-awaited Mister Master Xehanort."

"Or I can just kill the both of you here," I decided to say, not scared at all on the outcome my words can bring. "Kill the two of you, escape this world, get to the Badlands and find the rest of you Organization members. _And _Xehanort."

"A number of the Organization is here," Xemnas replied. "Including the two of us." He motioned his hands toward himself and Braig.

The Void Gear appeared in my hand on instinct, and I pointed it at Xemnas threateningly. Xemnas clapped his hands together and said, "I'm afraid it is time to truly test your strength. Braig."

"Right." With that word from Braig, Xemnas and Braig vanished within corridors of darkness.

In seconds, portals of black and white appeared in a circle all around me, and strange creatures of a white color, with a strange symbol on their heads, appeared out of each of them. Their mouths seemed to be zipped up, each zipper slowly opening until their mouths were wide open in sinister snarls.

They all rose into the air, and flew at me while twisting their bodies in impossible ways as they headed to me. These must be those _Nobodies_ Braig had mentioned a moment earlier.

I slammed my Void Gear into a Nobody—the name _Dusk _appearing in my head, signifying his name just as I would come to know of the names of the Heartless—and the Dusk simply knocked aside and retaliated by slamming its head into my side.

I slashed the same one at least two times before it vanished into a mix of black and white blood. _Much_ tougher than the Heartless are. A few minutes later, and the Dusks were completely gone.

Suddenly a few _Samurai_ Nobodies appeared in a triangle around me, having a straighter body than the dusks, two white swords in each hand.

My Void Gear clashed with their swords. I tried to make them drop their swords, until I realized their swords were only an extension of their own bodies and could not be removed.

After six or seven slashes, they vanished, but a horde of Dusks appeared after their defeat and floated gracefully through the air and each attacked me at the same time, their heads and arms smacking against me periodically.

It was then that it had started raining, and the rain shined and glistened on the ground in the light of the buildings. As soon as it started raining, several Shadows and Neoshadows appeared out of the ground, each Heartless jumping at their respective Nobody.

Some Nobodies were slashing their way through the Heartless, while other Heartless had killed some Nobodies. The two looked to be the perfect match. But why were these Heartless here?

I raised my hands into the air, and several Flood and Bruiser Unversed appeared around me, each of them slashing away at the Nobodies while the Heartless seemed to help out. I called upon all my strength, all my negative emotions, and snapped both of my fingers, the gigantic, multi-pieced Trinity Armor appearing behind me, floating in the air.

It swung its fists around and knocked each Nobody into the air, letting the Shadows and Neoshadows jump into the air to slash away at them. I swung my Void Gear in a complete 360 spin, and all the Nobodies around me vanished into nothingness.

Each of the Heartless looked up at me, and attacked. They had helped me before, but now that the Nobodies were gone, they had decided that I was their enemy. I slashed away at them, with Trinity Armor behind me backing me up, swinging its fists and shooting lasers out on every Heartless.

Eventually, all of them vanished, and I made the Unversed retreat back into my darkness.

I stepped onto the steps of Memory's Skyscraper and inspected the building. I looked up, and staring down at me from the very top of Memory's Skyscraper…was Rika. Why was _she_ here?

Those Heartless must've belonged to her. I ran straight for the Skyscraper, and then was lifted into the air by my darkness, shooting up the side of the skyscraper with Void Gear outstretched.

As I rose more than ten feet off of the ground, a huge number of Dusks, Samurais, _Snipers_, Berserkers, and _Gamblers _appeared on the ground below me. The Dusks rose up the building with me, walking up it and defying gravity.

I got halfway up the Skyscraper, flying upwards towards Rika. As the Dusks approached me, I swung my Void Gear all around me to kill each Nobody as my darkness flew me ever higher.

Rika, above, wearing that sinister smirk of hers, outstretched the her hand, and in one appeared the X-Blade, the other holding Dark Souls. He backed away from the edge of the building, and then ran to get a running start, and then jumped and nosedived off of the Skyscraper.

As she continued her decent downward, she threw the X-Blade at me, which I gladly grabbed, and it for some reason, felt cold to the touch. The minute my hands grabbed a hold of the X-Blade, Rika's upside down eyes met mine in front of the gigantic screens, and she continued downward below me.

With both Void Gear and X-Blade in my hands, I swung them rapidly to either side of me, the Void Gear knocking the Nobodies off and the X-Blade cutting through them like it was nothing. Though I was holding the X-Blade, I couldn't make it disappear. It was still _hers_.

The darkness that made me fly upward had ceased, and my feet lightly touched the rooftop. I looked down, where Rika had touched the ground below, hacking and slashing her way through the countless Nobodies.

With both Void Gear and X-Blade outstretched, I jumped off of the building and, quicker than I had risen up, landed on the ground beside Rika. The X-Blade exited my hand and flew in between of us, and spiraled through the air, spinning around in circles, darkness exiting the tip of it and shooting off in every direction.

Every Nobody on the entire battlefield had vanished, each exploding into black and white liquid. The X-Blade quit spinning, and vanished, along with Rika's Dark Souls. I made my Void Gear vanish.

"You should have died back there," Rika said, referencing when she tried to get me to _drown_. "I guess it's all in the pass, wouldn't you say, Vanitas?"

"What are you doing here?" I finally asked Rika.

"To lend a hand," she replied simply, though something told me she was lying. "And, I kind've traced Xemnas's trail so I can get here and _kill_ him and the others he has stationed here." There was the Rika I knew; always with a motive. This place just happened to have you in it as well. No big deal."

It had just stopped raining, giving us a relief. My clothes seemed to be soaking wet, yet hers looked extremely dry. I raised my hand into the air, and darkness covered up my body, and I was wearing my Dark Suit again.

"Ooh, sexy Vanitas," Rika giggled, placing a hand on my shoulder. "We should work together to stop the Organization. After that, I can gladly kill you and go about doing my own agenda for a change."

"And what would that be?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Yes, I very much would."

Rika glared at me and said, "It's a secret, buddy. Now, from what I understand, there should be a castle leading to Xemnas and whichever members are here with him. Right there." She pointed farther away, and I saw a lone white castle in the sky, illuminating the night around it. "The Castle that Never Was."

Rika started walking to the left, down the road leading away from Memory's Skyscraper, and I couldn't help but follow her. The Organization needed to be destroyed.

The more we walked, the closer we got to the castle that stood afloat in the sky. We had finally reached an area, where a huge white, flat walkway led all the way up to the castle that was now high above them.

A corridor of darkness, however, appeared in front of the walkway, and out of it walked Isa.

"Rika, I thought we told you to _not_ intervene," Isa spat, making Rika chuckle. "All that business aside…hello, Vanitas, we have been waiting ever so impatiently for your arrival. But now that you're here, we can take you with us and wait for Master Xehanort to appear. He is so close."

"Where _is_ he?" I asked, feeling my face getting red with anger. "Where _has_ he been!?"

"Traveling," was Isa's _stupid_ answer. I was never going to know where Xehanort was, I guessed. Around him appeared those _Berserker _Nobodies who each held a giant claymore. There were at least seven of them there.

"We might not be Nobodies anymore," Isa muttered under his breath. "But we still have power over them!" His eyes started shining an even brighter golden, his hair started becoming even wilder, his ears became pointier, and his x-shaped scar became jagged and longer.

This transformation made a moon appear in the sky, the moonlight shining down on us.

"Up there used to be the great Kingdom Hearts," Isa rasped out. "A heart shaped moon full of power. It's gone now, but I can still make _this_ moon appear!"

In his hand appeared a giant claymore, except this one had a form like a Keyblade, with jagged teeth poking out menacingly. The _Eye of Darkness_, that demonic blue eye, was on the tip of it.

He swung it, and Rika retaliated by clashing it with the X-Blade.

"_You_ have the X-Blade?" Isa asked in shock, swinging his Keyblade again. "Midnight Berserker!" That must've been the name of his Keyblade. He slammed his Keyblade down, both both me and Rika smacked it to the ground with our Void Gear and X-Blade.

"I will not fail!" Isa growled, his pupils vanishing and the rest of his eyeball glowing yellow, veins nearly popping out of his eye and around his eye. Each of the Berserkers vanished at his own will, except for each of their claymores. Each of them flew towards us, and to block them, Rika swung her X-Blade.

She had hit every single one back to Isa, each vanishing when they got within two feet of him, but there was one claymore left that hit Rika square in the stomach.

"Dark Firaga!" I screamed out, and multiple balls of dark fire shot from the tip of my Void Gear. Isa swung Midnight Berserker rapidly, slashing at every single ball of fire, and they had all vanished.

"Rika, use those massive darkness skills!" I yelled to her. She seemed to listen, and he made the X-Blade disappear.

Within minutes, darkness started swirling around her, and then darkness shot from the palms of her hands and smacked against Isa. The force was so strong, Isa yelled out in pain and flew backwards. Instead of falling onto the flat walkway that led to the castle, he flew off the edge of the cliff and plummeted down into the chasm below, screaming in rage.

It was then that I noticed, the corridor of darkness that was behind him was still there and opened, looking as if it was about to close. Rika looked to me and said, "We need to go in there!"

I nodded and ran into the corridor. I looked back, and saw that Rika was gone. _WHAT_!? She wanted to get rid of the Organization, yet left when we found where they might be? The darkness around me vanished, and through my eyes, I was looking at yet another vision.

Rika was walking down a sandy road. I noticed the place all too well. Keyblades of light and dark were scattered on their respective sides of the great battlefield. Why _was _she at the Keyblade Graveyard?

In her hand was the X-Blade, and she studied it intently. "The time has come," Rika muttered. She wouldn't talk to herself…was she talking _to_ the X-Blade? "I just have to wait for the entirety of the Organization to arrive here after they _easily_ defeat Vanitas. Then we'll initiate phase one." She held up her X-Blade, and black lightning shot from the sky and landed on the tip of the blade. "My precious _X-Blade_!"

My vision seemed to shift. Nami was standing next to Xion and Roxas by the shore of Sora's heart. "Vanitas," Nami muttered. "At dusk, _I'll_ think of you." She used _my _words. That made me smile a little bit.

My vision shifted yet again, and I found myself within my subconscious, the glowing body of Ventus floating in front of me. "Vanitas, what is Rika planning?"

I put my hand on my chin in thought. "I don't know," I said, more so to myself than to Ventus. I then felt a hand on my shoulder, and I whipped around to see the glowing form of Dara, who just smiled at me. "Dara?"

"You took in my heart, remember?" Dara asked. "When all this is over, you should be able to bring me to Sora's heart. I can then watch over him."

I nodded, and my vision had become normal again. I was now in a white, circular room with the _Nobody_ insignia in the center. All around, lining the circular floor, were thirteen high thrones arranged in different heights all around me.

Standing in the center, almost two feet away from me, was Xemnas, his smirk never ceasing to make me angry.

Sitting in their own thrones were Brag and Dulor, faces I really didn't want to see again. Appearing in one of the thrones out of a corridor of darkness was Isa. So he _didn't_ die in that deep chasm?

"Organization XIII's main stronghold," Xemnas replied to the awed expression on my face, knowing that I was wondering where I even was. Braig, Isa, and Dulor jumped off of their thrones and landed to the sides of Xemnas, Braig to his left, and Isa and Dulor to his right. "The four of us are of the original Organization XIII."

"It's good to see you again, mate," Dulor said in that accent of his. "I'm surprised it took you this long to get here. I kind of expected you to trace most of us down right after you left Traverse Town. Instead of going after your own personal vendetta against Xehanort, you could have come directly here to face off against Xehanort's greatest warrior, Xemnas."

"But enough of all the fuss," Braig said walking closer to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Let's get back to business, Nega Boy. We're here to make sure you don't go after Xehanort. We'll take you back to the Badlands, where at long last, Xehanort _will come to you_."

"I'll kill every last one of you here," I said, feeling anger overshadow Ven's and Dara's hearts. It was as if those two presences were long gone. "I…need…_XEHANORT_!"

Darkness swirled around me at a rapid pace, Unversed popping up all over the room. To retaliate at the sudden darkness flooding out of my body, Xigbar made his Freeshooter Keyblade appeared and shot a bunch of bullets my direction.

Dulor ran at me with his Ace of Destruction, swinging it at me. I dodged It easily, kicked Dulor in the face, and he flew against his own throne.

He then became an _Ace of Hearts_ card and vanished, and reappeared right behind me, where he grabbed hold of my neck and slammed me down to the ground. He darkness that shrouded my body now did not hurt Dulor. Those black cloaks really did work.

Dulor held me down, and Isa walked over to me, slamming his Claymore-Keyblade hybrid into into my stomach, and black blood leaked out of my mouth. He looked normal now, and not in that berserk state he was in earlier. He still seemed pissed from being thrown off of the cliff and into that chasm.

And then I yelled, "ENOUGH!" Darkness exploded out of me, and Xemnas, Braig, Isa, and Dulor all flew against their respective thrones. I stood up smiling and said, "I've done it…now, where is _XEHANORT_!?"

Xemnas chuckled, and he and the three others vanished and reappeared on their respective thrones. Xemnas said, "Time to be reacquainted with an old friend—Number XI—someone you know, Vanitas."

I raised an eyebrow, and appearing in the center of the room in front of me was another Organization member, his hood up. As he lowered his hood, I nearly gasped at who was behind there.

He wore jagged scars over his right eye and left cheek. His black hair is tied into a short, high topknot, with one bang falling off to the right side of his face. His eyes were golden, but that didn't stop me from seeing who he truly was. It was Master Eraqus.

"Master!" Ven's voice yelled from my lips. Damn, this boy had issues if he thought he could just but in like that. "Master Eraqus!"

Eraqus looked at me with sad eyes and said, "Ventus, it would appear that you are inside Vanitas." He looked me up and down. "I am afraid the darkness had taken me."

"Come on, Gramps, tell him your oh-so-tragic story!" Braig yelled from his throne. Sometimes I wanted to punch him so hard and take out his other eye.

Eraqus had a single tear trickle down his cheek as he said, "When Xehanort struck me down, I could've been lost forever. But Terra took in my heart, and that is where I stayed. When he and Xehanort fused together, Xehanort created a beast that he called the Guardian."

I jumped at the name.

"The Guardian is my heart," Eraqus said sadly. "Terra-Xehanort took my heart, filled it with darkness and forced it to ally with him. And when Terra-Xehanort created a Heartless…and a Nobody…" More tears trickled down as he continued. "My heart stayed as the Heartless, Guardian, while a Nobody was created. My light is all trapped within the darkness of the Guardian, my very own Heartless. While the Nobody, with no light whatsoever…is me."

"You're a Nobody?" I asked.

"Technically, yes, since I don't have my heart or my light," Eraqus replied. "And to make it worse, Xehanort's heart rests within me. Vanitas, escape now while you can so I don't kill you and Vanitas!" In his hand appeared a darker version of the Master Keeper, only this one was entirely black with the _Eye of Darkness_ on the handle. "Dark Keeper."

"How can this happen to you?" I asked, and darkness started swirling around his feet. "You fought for the light! He had no darkness!"

"The closer you are to the light," Eraqus said, getting in a battle stance. "The greater your shadow becomes!" He ran straight for Vanitas, swinging his Dark Keeper at me while I expertly dodged it. "Kyaaah!" He jumped back, pointed his Dark Keeper at me, and an orb of darkness appeared on its tip. It shot forward, and I simply slashed at it to make it disappear.

Except this darkness didn't disappear. It soared passed my Void Gear and collided with my chest, making me fly backwards. I landed on my feet before I can fall on my back.

Eraqus got into another battle stance, and darkness started swirling around not only him but the entire room and even me. And then he was gone. I couldn't see him anywhere.

"Master Eraqus!" came Ventus's voice again. "Wait…Vanitas, watch out!"

Almost as soon as he said that, I felt a stinging pain in my back. I cocked my head to the side and saw Eraqus standing there with the Dark Keeper deep inside my back, causing me to wince at the sight of the black blood that was flooding out.

I fell over in pain, unsure of what would happen next. My vision became blur, and darkness shrouded me, and I could barely see the silhouettes of Xemnas, Braig, Isa, Dulor, and Eraqus standing in front of me now.

My eyes opened to another vision. "Xehanort, what was that?" The voice…it was the younger version of Eraqus. As if fate had finally let me finish my own dream that I had way back in Sora's heart, where I saw that conversation between Young Xehanort and Young Eraqus, I could see the two of them sitting on their thrones.

Then the question popped up yet again. How _had_ Eraqus heard me?

Young Xehanort was still smiling in my direction, and then looked to Young Xehanort. "Go check the outer gardens. We may have an intruders," Young Xehanort ordered, and Young Eraqus rushed off to go deal with _my_ presence, even though he had no idea where I was. "Don't just stand there, Vanitas. Come, take a seat."

Confused as to how he could see me, I uneasily sat down on the throne to the side of him. "How can you…see me?"

"This isn't a vision, Vanitas," Young Xehanort replied. "Your mind has temporarily traveled through time. I called you here. I hear you want to know where the older version of myself is." I nodded. Was the _closest person_ to being the real Xehanort really about to tell me where he was? "In less than an hour, he will arrive in the Badlands, which is where you will finally see the two of us."

"What are you doing here talking to Eraqus?" I asked.

Young Xehanort smiled and said, "Vanitas, I have time traveled here to talk with him. I am not the real Xehanort of this time. My mind is simply possessing him for the time being to have a conversation with Eraqus. In a minute though, I will depart back to Master Xehanort's side."

And just like that, Young Xehanort's eyes closed, as if he had passed out, and a feeling of darkness jerked at my insides, and all I could see was darkness.

Within seconds though, I felt myself in a familiar, sweltering heat. I opened my eyes slowly. _The Badlands_.

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**Did you like this chapter, or the fact Eraqus is Number XI? What will happen next? REVIEW!**

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**Next Time: Vanitas awakens in the Badlands where the entire Organization, and the newly arrived Master Xehanort and Young Xehanort, are waiting for him. When Vanitas finds Ventus's body and Aqua's armor there with the Organization, a familiar brown and gold armored soldier attacks him. Stay tuned...**


	17. Lingering Wills

**Sorry for the wait, but here I am!.**

**Lingering Wills**

In all fairness, getting kidnapped by the Organization this early was not my intention. Why was I being targeted so much like this? Being on the run made me wonder what would have happened if Xehanort and I had won against Ventus, Aqua, and Terra that day, instead of both sides losing.

Would I still be traveling the worlds with Xehanort and honing my dark powers? Wait, no, that would not even be a possibility. He was using me to fuse with Ventus to get the X-Blade! I was always destined to go out with a bang, and I did, but now I'm back.

Back to the scene that unfolded before my eyes, I was staring into the eyes of Young Xehanort. "The time has come," Young Xehanort mumbled. I looked around and saw the Badlands, the hot sun slowly setting and replaced by a gray sky, and it lightly started raining.

"Xehanort's here?" I asked. What was I saying? Xehanort's _everywhere_ apparently. "If so, where the hell is he?"

"Look ahead of you," Young Xehanort said, walking more to the left as a corridor of darkness appeared directly in front of me, taking the form of a man. "Master Xehanort is returning. Enjoy your last minutes out of his clutches, because after this moment, I'm afraid the Superior will never let you escape."

The corridor of darkness opening in front of me continued to take shape. Then, one by one, corridors of darkness started opening up and circling around me. Each corridor vanished, and going around me from the corridor in front of me, clockwise, were Xemnas, Xehanort's Heartless, Braig, Terranort, Repliku, Isa, Ansem the Wise, Aros, Dulor, Eraqus, and of course, Young Xehanort on the left side of the corridor that continued to take shape.

At last, the corridor took shape completely, and the darkness vanished. Standing in its place was the one I've been looking for all this time. Master Xehanort stood in front of me, staring into my angered eyes with a smug smile.

"I knew we would meet again," Master Xehanort said in his old, raspy voice, as he stroked his silvery beard and glared at me with those pulsing golden eyes. "And my Organization has finally captured you. I did not want to harm you, oh no, Vanitas. I wanted to preserve you. And now I have you."

"I was looking everywhere for you, Xehanort," I snapped at him. "And what's with the Organization XIII members? Looking for others to do your dirty work, old man?"

"Hey, don't call him old man," Braig glared at me. "It's _old coot_, Nega Boy." Braig laughed at his stupidity. "Now, let's get down to business. Old coot, why don't you tell Nega Boy here why he's _really_ here."

"Ah, but of course," Master Xehanort said as if just remembering, still smiling at me. "We were in need of members. Our thirteenth member…is you."

"I'm not joining you freaks!" I yelled out, and in my hand appeared the Void Gear. "I do what I want! I escaped Sora's heart to—"

"To join with us," Isa spoke up. "That's why we sent Terra-Xehanort to Sora's heart. To swallow you in darkness and bring you to us. But you escaped, and we had a hard time capturing you."

"Because I'm strong!" I yelled back, and Braig simply snickered.

"You should have ran away when you had the chance," I heard Repliku say. Did he seriously expect me to run away and let the Organization not find me? I _had_ to find Xehanort! "Now it's too late, and you can never escape." Aros grumbled something in agreement. I could not understand that.

Dulor held out his hand in which a card appeared in, and he threw it to me. I gladly grabbed it, and looked at it. The picture on the card was of me with the number XIII on the top and bottom corners.

"But before I give you my heart," Master Xehanort mumbled, his Keyblade appearing in his hand. "We have to first await the great prophecy! To know what happened during, before, and after the great Keyblade War! _The three lost Keybearers shall light the way to the forbidden path where the forgotten legend unveils itself_."

Master Xehanort stabbed the ground with his Keyblade, just as all of the other Organization members vanished and reappeared in a circle far behind us where they were out of the way.

Darkness appeared to the side of us, and when it vanished, laying there motionless was Ventus's body. "Ventus!" I yelled. I could feel Ven's heart inside of me tensing up as my eyes locked upon the fallen Keyblade wielder.

Darkness appeared to the other side of Xehanort and I, opposite Ventus's body. It was the blue Keyblade armor of the once master, Aqua, the armor still in bits and pieces, exactly as the last time I've seen it.

Xehanort pointed to behind me. I turned around and saw, standing ten feet away from me with its Keyblade in the ground, the brown and golden armor on its knees, was Terra's armor.

"Terra!" Ven's voice escaped my lips again.

The armor was motionless, but I heard a voice fill the silence around us. The voice sounded like the clattering of metal, but I could faintly hear words beyond the noise. When he spoke, I drew my Void Gear.

**_"_****_Aqua...Ven...Keyblade...Who are you? I can feel it...we have met before. But when... wait…Ven's heart. Xe-ha-nort. Xeha-nort. Xehanort!" _**The Keyblade in the ground, Terra's _Ends of the Earth_, was removed from the ground and rose into the air by Terra's armor. The armor stood up and pointed the Keyblade at me. **_"_****_Release Ven's heart!"_**

And Terra dashed at me. He appeared to be very fast, and before I could move out of the way, his Keyblade smacked my torso and sent me flying to Xehanort. I hit the ground, soon seeing that Xehanort had vanished and reappeared closer to the Organization that was trying to stay away from the fight.

This version of Terra…was a bit odd. His heart was surely with Xehanort now. And his body was being used as a vessel for Xehanort's heart. But this…I could still sense Terra's mind within this Keyblade Armor. That's how he was able to think.

He raised his Keyblade into the air, and the ground below the two of us rose high up to at least fifty feet in the air. Aqua's armor and Ven's body were left on the ground below us.

"Terra, it's me, Ventus!" Damn, Ventus, stop butting in to _every little thing_. "Xehanort doesn't have my heart! I'm working with Vanitas to—"

**_"_****_All lies!" _**Terra charged at me with his Keyblade, swinging it viciously at me. I jumped away from it, my heels going off of the edge. I had to push forward so I would accidentally plummet to the ground, and I rushed forward with Void Gear. Terra clashed his blade with mine.

I heard the sizzling of fire as a _Firaga_ spell hurled towards me, which I tried slashing with Void Gear. The huge ball of fire went passed the blade, however, and collided with my chest.

Soon, Terra's Keyblade started expanding in size until it was probably larger than him and I combined. He pointed it to me, and a large beam of light shot from it and collided with my whole body, sending me flying off of the high circular platform of ground. I hit the ground hard, causing me to experience pain. _Pain_? What kind of changes were happening to me? I realized I could feel pain and bleed, but this just felt like I broke several bones.

The ground lowered back to the ground where it belonged, Terra's armor, thinking it was done with me, going back on its knees and sticking the blade back in the ground. I couldn't believe how incredibly short that battle was. Was it because I was too weak? How strong _was _Terra's armor?

As I lay in defeat, I heard Master Xehanort's footsteps approach me. "See, without my help you are all but useless." Thanks a lot, Xehanort. "But now…we will know of the ancient prophecy!" He held his Keyblade in the air and black lightning shot from the dark sky and landed on the blade. Immediately, I felt a dark tug at my heart.

I had regained sight again, and I saw myself in the center road between the Keyblades of Light and Dark. We were now really in the Keyblade graveyard. I saw Xehanort, still in front of me and lowering his Keyblade, as well as Ven's body, Aqua's armor, and Terra's armor making a triangle around the old man and I.

"I thought you knew everything there is to know about the Keyblade War," I said, standing up as I found out that my bones were not broken anymore. I didn't even know I _had_ bones.

"Ah, I do, but only about during the war and the aftermath," Xehanort said. "The beginning…I know that darkness formed in people's hearts. But now I can finally see who the first person to start this was. By reading the ancient texts on the walls of the Keyblade Ruins, below this graveyard! And to get there, I need these three."

He raised his Keyblade in the air, and darkness started forming in a triangle around us, passing over Ventus's body, Aqua's armor, and Terra's armor. Master Xehanort was lifted into the air by his own will, and I quickly stepped over the dark triangle as the entire interior of the triangle was covered in darkness.

When the darkness vanished, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus were gone. Xehanort didn't have them…they must have returned to their original spots that Xehanort had found them at. At least, that's what Ven had said inside my subconscious.

The sandy ground in the center of the triangle were gone, leaving a set of stairs that I saw inside. Xehanort motioned his hand forward, as if beckoning for me—and only me—to step inside. I stepped onto the first step at the top of the triangle shaped hole, and led myself downward.

The stairs began to spiral downward, until I had reached the hard ground. It was hard to believe that the very spot the Keyblade Graveyard was on—not to mention the same place Ven, Aqua, and Terra had once fought Xehanort and I—gave way to a large ruins area.

White chalk drawings and words littered the cave's interior, similar to how I saw the Traverse Ruin's walls. The little bit of rain that had fallen was now making a loud pitter-patter noise against the hard floor beneath me. I began to walk forward in the huge room…until I saw a long corridor that went on for god knows how long.

Lining the walls of the corridor were candles that were lit with fire. Standing in the corridor, blocking my way, X-Blade in hand, was _Rika_. Why was she here now?

"Welcome to the Keyblade Ruins," Rika said with a smirk. "Home of the Prophecy of Sanctuary. At least, that's what the old man outside thinks." I arched an eyebrow. Meeting her in the strangest of places was no longer confusing and felt natural now. "This place holds an ancient power. A power locked away for centuries. This X-Blade can unlock that sacred power."

"What is your motive?"

"My motive is power, Vanitas," Rika muttered. "Not power over people, or over the Heartless, but the sacred power locked away here. Follow me."

I did what I was told, and followed Rika down the corridor, the only light coming from the white drawings on the walls and the red flames on the candles. As we walked, Rika continued our conversation.

"A goal I've been working on forever," Rika continued, lowering her head. "The time is finally right. You're here, I have the X-Blade, I've found the ancient ruins _before_ Xehanort could… and now _he_ can—"

A gunshot filled the silence, and Rika slammed herself against the right wall, knocking over a few candles, yanking me with her to avoid being hit by a bullet. I squinted my eyes ahead and saw a corridor of darkness opening up towards the end of the long corridor, and a person walked out of it.

He walked closer to Rika and I, bathed in shadows, as he said, "I finally found ya, Vanitas. How long has it been? A few days? Weeks? People like me can't tell time." When he got within ten feet from us, I was now looking into his pale pink eyes.

"Malik!?" I yelled out, freaked out by the fact that he should've been _dead_. "How is this possible?"

"Remember how Julius was about to kill me?" Malik asked, brushing dirt off of his leather jacket. "In the heat of the moment, I realized I could not be killed by a mere monster like him. So I grabbed my Keyblade, stabbed myself in the heart, hoping I'd die by my own hands. But my will musta been too strong, so here I am. I heard stories…people like me tend to be called Nobodies." He trained his Gunpowder Keyblade at me.

"You're a Nobody?" I asked, and I suddenly felt a warmth intensify in my stomach, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked to the side of me, where a body covered in light stood. It was _Dara's spirit_, making himself known. "Dara?"

"Malik," Dara's spirit replied. "Don't hurt Vanitas. Sure, he does some pretty messed up things, but he needs to stay alive so he can bring my spirit to my son. I have to watch over him."

"Dara, is that you?" Malik asked, and at this point I was very confused. "It's been a while, ain't it? And I need to kill Vanitas. He left me to die at the hands of _my_ prey."

Suddenly, Malik was pushed forward and fell straight passed Dara's spirit, going straight through him as if Dara didn't exist. Malik pushed himself up, and stood behind Dara, looking ahead to what had pushed him. It was Rika. I looked back to where she was standing moments before, but she was gone. She must've vanished and reappeared behind Malik.

Shadowy tendrils rose from Rika's body as her eyes went from green to golden, then to silver. She raised her X-Blade into the air and screamed, "The power shall be unlocked! Using the X-Blade…my darkness…" Her darkness started wrapping around the X-Blade. In her free hand appeared a glass of black liquid. _My blood_. She poured the blood on the tip of the X-Blade, and screamed, "…and Vanitas's blood!"

The X-Blade rose from her hand and shot to the center of the corridor. Then each of the candles went out, just like that. The corridor was filled with an eerie calm. And the next thing I could describe…was the X-Blade. It began to glow a light purple color, and when the color dimmed down, I saw a shadowy figure take shape to the side of it, its shadowy hand gripping the handle of the X-Blade.

The blackness of the creature's skin soon became a normal skin tone, and a person stood there, grabbing hold of the X-Blade as Rika stood to the side of him. He was floating a few inches off of the ground. He looked like a teenager, maybe seventeen years old.

The man there had long purple hair that reached around the back of his waist. His bangs were long, one bang covering his left eye, giving only enough room to see the silver color in the both of his eyes. He moved his bangs to the side. On his head was a white fedora with a black ribbon tied around it, a black feather sticking out of the ribbon to the right of his head.

He blinked a few times, then smiled, and floated around the corridor like a little kid in a candy shop. "My, oh, my, it is _great _to be back!" he shouted in the most eccentric voice I have ever heard. He floated in front of Rika, staring into her eyes.

"Hello, Rika, great to see you again!" the man said as he turned back to me and floated towards Malik, Dara's spirit, and I. "The name's Domino, and you must be Vanitas. How ya doing, kid?"

_This_ was the great Domino Rika spoke of back in Utopia? Who was this man?

.

**Sorry for the shorter than average chapter, but it does lead into an even larger chapter. What will happen now? Why is Domino here? What is Rika planning? Stay tuned! AND REVIEW!**

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**Next Time: Domino is back, and as if being put on hold for centuries, the legendary Keyblade War continues its deadly climax as Vanitas has to fight the great and all powerful Domino as well as the Organization. What will happen? Stay tuned...**


	18. Keyblade War

**Keyblade War**

"My, oh, my, it is _great _to be back! Hello, Rika, great to see you again!" The man with the long purple hair and silver eyes walked to me and grabbed my hand, shaking it swiftly and then pulling his hand back. "The name's Domino, and you must be Vanitas. How ya doing, kid?"

What was with this guy? That eccentric personality would have smothered me in more Light than I can take…except I couldn't find a single ounce of Light within this guy. Normally I can tell the difference between light and dark. Just like Rika, Domino was one of the dark.

"Just kidding, I know who you are, Vanitas!" He spun around in midair back to Rika. "Rika's talked all about you! How powerful you are, and other stuff like that!" _Other stuff_? "You see, I was trapped within the X-Blade, since the very end of the Keyblade War! My darkness had sensed a girl back in those times…the girl standing before me."

Domino turned from Rika back to me. "I met Rika, her the exact age as she is now. Me, my friend, and her had all been scattered during the Keyblade War. I was trapped within the X-Blade, my friend lost his life, and Rika's soul was sent to the Realm of Darkness, where it stayed dormant. She must've been freed somehow."

_The birth of Kairi_. I understood now. She was released when Kairi was born, so Kairi, a bright light, took the shape of Rika, who mirrored her light with darkness… and Rika wanted the X-Blade… to release _this_ guy? What will this guy serve to her goals? Come to think of it, I don't know her goals very well. She was always a mystery, appearing in multiple worlds that I've been to…and now here she is, fulfilling some destiny I'd love to hear about.

"Yes, I was freed," Rika replied. "Kairi was born…such a _strong_ resemblance to myself. Her heart…was born of pure light. The light cast a powerful shadow…or rather, it was I who created her light. As the stories go, light and dark work hand in hand. So my darkness brought Kairi's light to life, just as her light released my darkness."

"I think I understand now," I muttered. "Why release Domino though?"

"He's one of my only friends," Rika replied. "I had to help him. I didn't want him to out like he did, but before his soul fused with the X-Blade, he banished myself to the Realm of Darkness so I wouldn't be hurt. Always so stubborn."

"Hey, that's what friends are for!" Domino replied. He looked to me and the two to the side of me. "I don't think I know who you two are. Mind telling me? Oh, wait. Let me guess." He floated closer to me and eyes Malik and Dara weirdly. "A Kamikaze _and_ a Skye? Vanitas, my friend, you sure have a habit of befriending Utopians."

Of course, this guy was from Utopia. So he knew the two of these guys' bloodlines? Malik Kamikaze…and Dara Skye?

Domino caught my quietness as I thought about it and said, "Don't worry, I'm not psychic. My darkness can just tell a familiar scent. Skye over here is so close to the light, it's unreal. I'd almost call him a _Prince_ of Heart. And Kamikaze, he here has the familiar cold hard stare behind those cute pink eyes."

Malik tensed up at that and yelled, "Oh yeah!? And who are you to know my name?"

"Just call me Domino," the boy before us said, turning back to Rika. "Rather a rude bunch, wouldn't you say? Where do you pick guys like this? I thought your dating skills would've improved at least a _little_."

"Domino, I just freed you," Rika replied with a scowl. "Quit talking about my horrendous love life and let's talk goals. We both had to see the War come to end. Yet both sides lost. Today, we make sure that at least one side wins." In her hand appeared Dark Souls.

"You're quick to start a fight," I replied, now holding my Void Gear and pointing it to Rika. "Just what do you mean by making sure one side wins?"

"Meaning, everyone else on this site will die," Domino said in a cheery voice that was a little too happy-sounding to be talking about death. "Except for me and dear Rika here. That means we'll be the winners, the last remaining Darknesses on the battlefield!"

"Since the Keyblade War, you've wanted the Dark to win…" I muttered, realizing Rika and Domino's goal. "Now that two of the last dark users are here, you have to kill everyone else in order to have truly won this war. You _have _to be the last ones standing for this to happen."

"Both sides were never supposed to lose, Vanitas," Rika said trying to sound sad about it. "Now that we're back, we can actually have a shot at this." Her frown became a wicked smile. "And just to let you know, Xehanort was looking for a fake prophecy. There _is_ no prophecy. Only Domino." She pointed to the scribbles on the walls. "These only tell of the Keyblade War…just ancient texts. There is nothing that predicts anything here, or tells anyone anything they need to know."

"And this is the only place Domino could be freed at," I muttered. "You couldn't do it anywhere else."

"Follow me, you guys!" Domino shouted, and flew passed Rika and further down the corridor. Rika reluctantly followed with Dara, Malik, and I cautiously walking after her.

Once at the very end of the corridor, we saw a pedestal at the end, and on it was a book bound in golden leather, a black ribbon attached and hanging out of it as if to mark the place of whoever was reading it. _Like a bookmark_. On the front cover was a huge, calligraphy-style _'__K'_.

Domino picked it up, and Rika smiled at it. Domino was wearing a button up shirt over his normal black t-shirt, and he slipped the book inside the left side of his button-up shirt, in some secret pocket he had there. How it was able to fit in there was unknown to me.

"Memories," Domino said, looking to Rika. "This place is a beautiful sanctuary. I'd hate for anyone to disrupt its sacred peacefulness. "

"I've just had about enough of you!" Malik yelled running towards Domino with his Gunpowder outstretched. Though Domino wasn't even looking at us, a powerful force pushed Malik back and the bounty hunter slammed against the wall at the very entrance of the Keyblade Ruins.

"Malik!" Dara exclaimed in worry. Malik _must_ have been Dara's old partner, before the two of them _passed away_. Well, I guess they're not entirely dead. But enough about that. "Are you alright!?" Dara's glowing spirit rushed to where Malik had hit the wall.

Domino turned towards me and said, "Those friends of yours sure are one hell of riot! Seriously, I'm laughing on the inside on how _stupid _the two of them are!" Domino was really pissing me off. "And Kamikaze has quite the nerve charging at someone centuries more powerful than he is. Couldn't even beat Julius, and he was one of my weaker creations."

"You _created_ Julius?" I asked.

"Boy, how'd you ever think of that?" Domino asked as he laughed at his own stupidity. I mean, he talked stupid, but he seemed almost _intelligent_. "Believe me, Julius was created on accident, but he was able to watch over the Traverse Ruins! And I guess I'm grateful for that."

He lowered, and his noticeably bare feet finally touched the ground after centuries. "Now, to explain a few things," Domino said. "I have been wanting to be freed for some time now. Do you remember all those dark feelings in your gut? All those visions?"

That piqued my interest, so I listened harder.

"My darkness, evenwhen you didn't even _have_ the X-Blade, was the one thing guiding you along and finding all these worlds as well as additional information on that Organization. All these things you've done, were to eventually meet Rika again and then she could take the X-Blade to resurrect my spirit. Great plan, huh?"

"Perfect," I said angrily.

Domino readjusted his fedora as he walked forward, his light footsteps tapping against the pavement below him. Rika ran after him, and the two began to ascend the stairs back up to the Keyblade Graveyard.

I ran down the corridor and met Malik and Dara at the end, urging them to follow me back up the stairs. And in a rush, the three of us ran up the stairs to catch up with Domino and Rika.

When we got back onto the battlefield of the Keyblade Graveyard, I saw Master Xehanort standing face-to-face with Domino, the two eyeing each other menacingly.

"And who is it I am addressing?" Master Xehanort asked. Even he looked genuinely confused, which is a rare sight on the old man. He's normally always so calculated and knew about everything.

"I had not seen silver hair like yours in ages," Domino said with that eccentric smile and wide eyes. Domino reached forward and touched Xehanort's silver beard. "A remarkably similar color. How strange. The name's Domino, and you must be that Xehanort fella I've heard so much about from Rika. When I was trapped in the X-Blade, she talked to me a lot. Now I am free."

"Is that so," Xehanort mumbled. "What is the great Domino doing in the Graveyard?"

"I have to be the last one standing," Domino replied. "Rika and I need to survive, then we can be the true victors of the Keyblade War."

"Quite a tremendous goal," Xehanort replied. He darted his eyes towards me. "But hurt Vanitas and my plans are all but ruined. Can we make an agreement, Domino?"

"Sure—" Domino replied quickly, holding his X-Blade free hand out. "—if you have a death wish!" He swiped his arm through the air, and just as he had pushed Malik, Master Xehanort was pushed by a tremendous force and soared through the air.

Without a moment's hesitation, Master Xehanort vanished in thin air and reappeared behind Domino, where his Keyblade was now embedded in Domino's back. And in a flurry of darkness, Domino vanished and reappeared behind Xehanort.

"Old man, I'd like you to kindly step out of my way," Domino said, his eccentric demeanor soon changing to a more serious tone. "The X-Blade…" He pressed the tip of the aforementioned blade into Xehanort's back, though making sure not to cut through it. "…the only thing that can kill the silver haired one. If not this, he just keeps coming back."

"We've waited long enough!" a voice shouted, and floating from the darkness on the ground was Xehanort's Heartless, a guy I didn't particularly want to see again. "Let's finish things here and take Vanitas! Let our darkness consume _all_!"

The ground seemed to be shaking beneath my feet, Malik and Dara grabbing each of my arms to keep them from falling over. Somehow I managed to stay from toppling over.

The rain began to beat down on us harder as the dark clouds above us parted and released a giant ship that was in the air. As it started falling slowly down, I had just realized just what _had_ come out of those clouds. Lo and behold, it was the World of Chaos that was _supposed _to be in the Realm of Darkness.

Xehanort smiled and said, "Domino, you should have saw this coming. We are willing to fight for our one and only choice of a thirteenth member. Vanitas is ours. And you're not going to strike down every last one of us to go about your own agenda."

I walked around the large triangle shaped hole in the ground and approached Xehanort, when Xehanort's Heartless stood in front of him defensively. I decided to yell out, "Why is _that_ thing here?"

In Ansem, Seeker of Darkness's hand appeared a Keyblade of his own. It had a simple design of red and black, with its teeth forming the outline of a heart. This was a Keyblade that had _no_ Keychain.

"Key of Heart!" Ansem shouted, swiping it at me. I blocked it with my own Void Gear. "No matter the outcome here, Vanitas, you are destined to sink into the dark depths that await you."

"Shut up!" I yelled, swinging my Void Gear at full throttle. When our Keys clashed, he took that chance to kick me in the stomach, sending me flying several feet backwards and into Malik, who caught me in his arms and put me back on my feet. "Thanks, I guess."

The World of Chaos was now twenty feet off of the ground, and Xehanort's Heartless disappeared and reappeared on top of the large beast. The disfigured and horribly looking face of the World of Chaos now looked very much alive.

Rika approached me. I had forgotten she was even there with all the commotion that was going on. Lightning filled the skies and thunder roared in the air, and the rain seemed like it just wouldn't quit.

Rika looked into my eyes and said, "Vanitas, now that Domino is freed, I no longer have any use for you. The only use we have for you now if for you to kill the Organization XIII's members so Domino and I can reign victorious."

Rika pushed my chest, and I flew backwards, but not before I was kicked in the back by someone else. I looked to the back of me and saw Isa standing there, his Midnight Berserker in his hand. "This is all in the Organization's best interest," Isa said with that cold stare of his. "It was only a matter of time before we caught you, Vanitas. And now you're here."

"I am," I replied. I held out my Void Gear and a black ball of fire shot in Isa's direction, and it was simply blocked by the swiftness of a shadow. Now in front of Isa was Aros, Sora's Heartless. "You?"

It uttered a low growl, and jumped at me. As I slashed at it, trying to fend it off, I couldn't help but noticed that Rika was gone, and Domino and Xehanort were exchanging swipes of their respective Keyblades as they ran and jumped farther away from me, fighting as they went.

Aros preferred to fight with his cloak, boots, and gloves off, exposing his similar body type and claws as he slashed at me with his claws, hissing in some language that I could not understand.

And then Aros was frozen in midair as it jumped at me. Holding onto the back of its neck was a hand, which squeezed hard enough and Aros exploded into liquid darkness. I could tell that Aros was already dead.

Standing where Aros had died, his feet soaking in the wet darkness underneath him, was Repliku, of all people, saving me _yet_ again. "Go after Xehanort and that other man!" Repliku yelled at me, swinging his Path of Darkness just as Midnight Berserker swung our way. The two Keyblades clashed. "Go! I can't hold of Saix forever!"

"It's _Isa_, not that it matters," I replied in Isa's defense, and started backing away from those two. "Repliku, be careful! Naminé would not want you to die!"

"That means a lot, coming from you, but I can take care of myself," Repliku replied, clashing his Keyblade with Isa's. "Now get a move on!" Isa swiped at Repliku's feet, and the latter jumped up to avoid getting his feet sliced off.

"Where is your loyalty, Number VI?" Isa yelled as he slammed his Keyblade down, just barely missing Repliku's head. "Xemnas can have you turned into a dusk for this!"

"Like I care," Repliku replied, and dark tendrils shot from below Repliku's feet and wrapped around Isa's arms, holding the man in place. "Vanitas, go!"

"Come on!" a voice yelled, snapping me back to reality. Dara's spirit was grabbing hold of my arm, and I decided to follow him away from Repliku and Isa as they continued their fighting. Dara brought be to the center of the battlefield, where the triangle shaped hole was, and where Malik was also standing taking in the sight all around him.

The World of Chaos above us was shooting balls of darkness out of that disfigured figurehead, each ball hitting the ground with the force of a cannonball. Xehanort's Heartless still stood on top of the World of Chaos, where I had also seen Xemnas to the side of him.

I then noticed what the balls of darkness were firing at. I had located Rika, a twister of darkness swirling all around her and Heartless rising from the ground in every open area.

I then decided to use my full abilities so I can see what was going on around me. I raised both of my hands in the air, my Void Gear vanishing, and a circle of ground that Malik, Dara, and I were standing on flew into the air, just even with the World of Chaos and above the chaos unfolding below.

I looked in one direction. Rika was creating Heartless at a fast rate, just as millions of them were being destroyed by balls of darkness _and_ the appearing members of the Organization XIII. I looked towards a different direction and saw Isa and Repliku, still fighting away.

And then I heard it. The sound of death. Did I mention that? I can _hear_ death…not the deaths of the Unversed, Heartless, or Nobodies, but the death of someone who has a heart. Repliku did have a heart, despite being a replica. I looked down and saw the Keyblade of Isa poking out of Repliku's back, and I felt my anger tense up inside of me.

I rubbed my eyes and felt the tears that had started dripping down. I couldn't believe this. I actually _cared_ for this person, despite our differences. When I looked down again, he was on his back, fading away into darkness. He had died far too quickly then I had expected. As he lived his last moments, he looked up to me and smiled.

But he saved me. And had gotten me to save Nami. "Damn it!" I shouted, making my Void Gear appear in my hand, and out of anger I threw it off the edge of our platform but it had only reappeared in my hand, so I made it vanish. "Damn it! Damn it!"

"Calm down!" Dara screamed at me.

"Dara's right!" Malik replied quickly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "These guys have to die. If they stay alive, you can be seriously hurt, or worse…a part of them."

"Vanitas, don't give up," a voice muttered, and I quickly turned around to the voice. Nami stood there behind me, her body shimmering with a golden light. The light vanished, and Nami smiled at me. "Repliku has found his peace. He will return to Riku once the day is done."

As she said that, a corridor of darkness appeared in front of us and stepping from it was Ansem the Wise, his Dark Dawn in hand. He looked to the ground as if too afraid to make eye contact.

Nami gasped when she saw him. "DiZ?" She rushed to him, but he held a hand out and a mysterious force pushed Nami back, and she flew over the side of the platform. Before she could plummet to her death, I grabbed hold of her arm to save her, and I pulled her up, all the while staring at Ansem.

"How could you do that to her!?" I yelled at him, but he didn't answer. "Is it Xehanort's heart? Is it making you hurt people!?"

"Xehanort's heart forms a will of its own," Ansem replied. "It overshadows one's own heart to the point where they rarely have their own will. That replica that just faded away…he had a special exception that I am unsure of."

"Listen, Vanitas," Nami said, putting a hand on my shoulder, comforting me. "You'll never win tonight…because you've grown a heart of light." I was confused, staring at her with a frown that showed my discomfort with that sentence. "People like us, we hold you back. And I understand. But to beat these guys, you have to use your full potential."

"I am using my full potential," I snapped back.

"No, you're not," Nami replied. "I have to unlock the chain of memories that link directly to me, and your encounters with various friends. You won't forget about me, but you will forget about your friendship with me and the others."

"You can't do that," I told her, not wanting to lose all these memories. "There has to be some other way!"

"There isn't," Nami replied, putting her arms around my neck in a simple embrace. Her forehead touched mine, and something happened. I could barely feel Ven's heart anymore. I couldn't even feel my own light. "This is the way it has to be."

"What?" I asked, clutching my head as everything I've stood for for the past couple of days slowly slipped away. Nami gave me one last hug. Wait…why was Naminé hugging me?

I pushed her off of me and she fell to the ground, surely hitting her head hard enough, so I saw a little blood trickle from her ear. I looked to Ansem…and with no remorse whatsoever…I rushed forward and shoved my Void Gear into his stomach.

"Wha—" Ansem muttered, and he fell onto his knees in agony as I twisted my Void Gear inside of his stomach. Naminé stood up brushed the dirt off of her white gown, and looked to Ansem with a sad, yet satisfied, frown. "Wait…"

"Tell me what you have to say quickly so I can kill you right here," I threatened, first unsure of why I had said that, then I knew that it was _who I am_. "I don't like to wait on people."

"Destroy Organization XIII," Ansem muttered, a tear dripping down his cheek. "My life's work has all lead up to the final confrontation with Xehanort. Don't let me down. Also, Vanitas—"

Too late. I dug the Void Gear deeper into his stomach, going upward until it met his heart, and darkness started swirling around him. I quickly yanked my Void Gear out of his stomach, and then swiped it again and the side smacked Ansem's waist, and the man, as he was fading away into darkness, flew off of our earthy platform and to his inevitable death.

Naminé winced when she couldn't hear him hit the ground below. He had faded away too quickly. Where would he go once he fades? That was a question on my mind, but I had to save it for a later date.

Yet _another_ corridor of darkness appeared at the edge of the platform, and the _Xehanorted_ Master Eraqus stepped out of it, scowling in anger at me. His golden eyes were filled with rage, and he didn't even seem the same as he did back in the World that Never Was. And I wanted to kill him.

"Vanitas," Naminé spoke behind me. "End this war…for all of us." And with that, she vanished in a golden light. Why _was_ she even there? Her words had spoken in my head…"_At dusk, I'll think of you, Vanitas_."

Dara and Malik to the side of me were having their own conversation during all that was unfolding. They were _trying_ to whisper, but they were idiots because they _should've _known that I could hear every word they were saying about me.

"He's back to the way he was a while back," Malik muttered. "Now he has no remorse for killing anybody. I should know, he left me for dead."

"Naminé, or whoever that girl was, somehow took away his memories of happiness," Dara noticed. "What if he _can't _bring me back to Sora's heart!?"

I chuckled at their stupidity and looked Eraqus in the eyes. "Come on, Eraqus, let's see what you got."

Eraqus yelled, "Vanitas, you belong with the Organization! Kyaaah!" He rushed forward with Dark Keeper in hand, swinging it at me and slashing it with Void Gear. He shot multiple balls of darkness from it that I always gladly swiped through, the darkness dissipating into thin air.

"I don't belong with _anything_!" Darkness nearly exploded out of my body, sending Dara and Malik over the edge. I don't know why I looked back, but when I did, they had landed safely below. Eraqus, on the other hand, had only stood on the far edge, _about_ to fall off.

"Put an end to me!" I heard Eraqus yelled, and I saw that, for a moment, his eyes were not golden. When they became golden again, he smirked and ran at me with Dark Keeper outstretched.

"With pleasure!" I yelled back, running at him as well, swinging Void Gear through the air. I felt my Void Gear meet Eraqus, and his Dark Keeper meeting myself. We ran past each other. When I looked back, Eraqus fell over onto his knees, clutching his side that darkness started exiting from.

Me, on the other hand had a small cut on my neck, but nothing to major. I stalked over to Eraqus, stepping on his face, showing my superiority. I pressed my shoe hard against his forehead, and then removed it. I looked down, and darkness started to swirl around him.

I had killed him _so_ quickly? This new, intense feeling…a murderous feeling…was so enjoyable! I could destroy the entire Organization in one fell swoop and nobody would be able to stop me!

And then I heard it. "Master!" This time it hadn't escaped my lips. The glowing aura of Ventus was floating in front of me, lowering itself to Eraqus, and the man actually _saw _Ventus. "Master Eraqus!"

"Ventus…" Eraqus muttered. "It had to be done. I'm not your true master, I'm just a Nobody that has to fall. After I'm done, you _have_ to get rid of the Guardian heartless and free Terra, and only then will I return a complete person."

And just like that, the darkness had completely devoured him, and I felt good after. Ven looked to me with a frown and said, "You made a promise to Dara! Regardless of how you're feeling, you _have_ to bring us back to Sora's heart!"

His anger was invigorating. I loved every second of making this boy suffer. Ven vanished in a flash of light, and I felt the _slight_ warmth of him inside of me.

I called upon a corridor of darkness…and when I entered it, I had stepped out on top of the World of Chaos. I stood on top of the beast, staring at Xemnas, Terranort, and Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. "Who's next?" I asked with an evil smirk.

"So you have killed two members thus far," Xemnas muttered. "And Isa had no choice but to kill the replica of Riku, who had killed Sora's Heartless moments before. Four of our members that were too _weak_."

I raised my hands in the air, and Unversed started appearing all around the top of the ship and below the ship. "I have the Unversed set to keep appearing," I told them when I saw their stupid stares at the creatures. "When I'm gone, they'll still be appearing."

And with that, I blasted one final push of darkness their way, but they had their own methods of blocking the strong dark wind. I jumped off of the World of Chaos, feeling the wind in my wet hair cooling me off as I dropped.

I had finally landed on the wet, earthy soil, several feet from where Rika was, spawning Heartless like crazy. My Unversed took care of a majority of the Heartless, and Rika stopped spawning them as she walked to me.

"Quite a day, wouldn't you say?" Rika asked, but I had no intensions for conversations. I felt myself disappear, and I reappeared behind Rika and stuck the Void Gear in her back, but she vanished into darkness and reappeared behind me, the point of her Dark Souls digging into _my_ back. "Oh, come on, not this charade again. I thought you were stronger than that."

I slowly turned back towards her and said, "I would like to kill you. I would. I've done it to two members; I could do it to you and that Domino." Then a thought occurred to me. "Where _is_ Domino at? And Xehanort?"

"The two have been fighting forever," Rika sighed, pointing farther away where I saw Xehanort and Domino, both _in the air_, clashing Keyblades with one another. "It looks like the two are a perfect match for each other. Not one is letting up."

Rika started walking in their direction, so I simply followed her. When Domino looked down at the two of us, he ceased his useless fighting against Xehanort and dropped down, yelling, "Ah, Rika, and Vanitas, the site of you both warms my darkened heart!"

"Domino, what else do you want besides winning the war fair and square?" I asked, as Xehanort dropped down beside me. I looked back to him, but he was gone. "Because what you've done has made me have to fight the Organization. Not that I'm complaining. I enjoyed every minute of killing those two."

"I also was hoping to see…if my closest friend remained asleep," Domino replied, and raised both hands into the air. He rose up, and a small hole in the ground below him, shaped like a rectangle almost like a _grave_, appeared in the soil. He dropped down to the side of the hole.

Rika also looked down and gasped. I saw who it was…it didn't look familiar in any way.

It looked like a boy, his eyes wide open and _golden_ like Xehanort's. He had long, scraggly silver-gray hair cascading over his shoulders and down to his feet. His face seemed extremely wrinkled. The clothes he was wearing were in tatters, looking even older than he was.

"It _is_ him," Rika muttered. Who was this person that Domino and Rika knew?

"Kane," Domino replied, a single tear in his eye. "How great it is to see an old friend like this!" He readjusted his fedora. "Vanitas, I'd like you to meet one of my closest friends, Kane." To the side of Kane was a mysterious looking Keyblade. "He even kept that old Keyblade of his."

"Why is he here?" I asked, though I truthfully didn't care one way or the other.

"He sacrificed himself," Domino replied, finally dropping that smile of his. "To make sure I remained locked up in the X-Blade and Rika remained in the Realm of Darkness. How depressing that he's the only one who truly gave up his life, while Rika and I are still very much here."

_I can't do this_, the voice in my head said. As my subconscious told me that, I clutched my head in agony. Memories started flooding my head. Memories I should have forgotten about. I saw Ventus, Roxas, and Xion in Sora's heart all staring at me with smiles of…happiness…and friendship.

I saw Naminé…Nami. She was smiling as well, lighting the darkness within my heart. I also saw Malik…and Dara…the two of them gazing at me as though I should be doing something I'm not. Then I remembered. I _have_ a heart. Nami's strong powers couldn't keep my heart contained for long.

I could now remember what I was truly supposed to do. I had to destroy the Organization, find a way to stop Domino and Rika, apologize somehow to Malik, and send Dara to Sora's heart. It's what I must do. That is my duty.

As I stared down at whoever this _Kane_ person was, I remembered my friendships with the people I've met so far on my journey, even though it wasn't a lot. I closed my eyes, and within my heart, I saw the glowing figures of everybody who made me feel like I had a heart.

_Ventus, Roxas, Xion, Ansem the Wise, Aqua, Malik, Dara, Repliku, Hayner, Pence, Olette, _and at last_Naminé._ Every person I've met that made me feel more alive. So screw Xehanort and his band of Xehanorts. I had to do what was right, despite the darkness lingering in my heart.

Ventus smiled inside of me, and I smiled as well.

Domino smiled at Kane, and then looked to me with a wide smile and said, "Anyhoo, I guess it's safe to say that the day is almost done. And with that, Vanitas, I must say…" His smile dropped to a scowl as he yelled out, "I'm afraid I have to _kill_ you!"

Domino pointed his X-Blade at me and jumped towards me, and I simply blocked it with Void Gear, while yelling out, "I have to do this, and you won't stop me, Domino!"

"But Domino has to stop you," Rika replied with an evil smile, swinging her Dark Souls at me. "And you will perish!"

Before her Dark Souls could hit me, I felt a bright warmth within me, and I was now holding another Keyblade in my hand that had just appeared out of a bright light. In my other hand, which was blocking Dark Souls, was none other than Ventus's Keyblade, Wayward Wind, which I held backhanded similar to Ven.

_Thanks, Ven,_ I mentally said.

"How is that possible?" Rika yelled out in anger. "Your heart is supposed to be made of complete darkness!" I swung Void Gear towards Domino and Wayward Wind towards Rika, and the two slightly backed away to avoid being hit.

"Not anymore," I replied, pointing the Keyblades respectively at Domino and Rika. "I have a heart of Light and Darkness! I'm a normal person from here on out! No longer a pawn of the darkness!"

Domino and Rika backed away even further past Kane when corridors of darkness appeared all around me. _Great timing, guys_.

All around me, going clockwise, were Master Xehanort, Xemnas, Xehanort's heartless, Braig, Terranort, Isa, Dulor, and Young Xehanort. The last remaining Organization members, and what I was guessing the most loyal as well.

"Now who is this?" Master Xehanort asked, looking down into the coffin shaped hole at Kane. "I don't believe I've ever seen this person. What did you call him? Kane?"

Young Xehanort took a closer look at Kane, staring into his wide eyes. "He has golden eyes." I just wanted to scream 'DUH!' so badly. "Is he an ancestor…of me?"

Domino approached the Organization of Xehanorts slowly and said, "Kane is a boy of light…nothing like you Xehanorts."

I heard a sudden gasp, and I looked behind me to see Terranort slowly fading away into darkness. Standing behind him with a Keyblade of Light poking out of Terranort's chest was Dara, Malik to the side of him.

Terranort dropped his Keyblade and vanished into the darkness without another word. Dara ran past the rest of the Xehanorts and grabbed my hand, and then vanished into light, his heart now inside of me again.

I took that time to do the initiative. I had to win this fight. I vanished and reappeared behind Domino, and pushed him into the coffin with Kane. Before I could use my true abilities to seal the hole, Domino vanished and reappeared high above all of us.

"Darkness is eternal!" Domino shouted out, holding his hands out as darkness spiraled out of his palms. "And the Keyblade War is mine to win!" And that's when I felt the full force of his darkness. The rain, thunder, and lightning had finally ceased, and for a second, everything was calm.

And then with a sudden force, everyone except Rika had felt, the ground ripped apart at our feet and exploded with darkness, all the remaining Heartless and Unversed dying with it.

I flew backwards, as did the Xehanorts. The Keyblade Graveyard was ripping apart at our feet, so much that Kane had fallen into an abyss below where he slept. Domino took the golden book with the black letter _K_—the one he slipped into his button up shirt—and threw it down, falling into the coffin and into the dark abyss below.

I saw Rika vanishing within darkness, smiling at me as I hit the ground with a thud, slowly losing consciousness. I looked above me, and Domino started vanishing with the darkness once more. But I had to fight to stay awake. I stood up, mustered all my power, and flew upward, a mix of darkness and light boosting me up as I flew towards Domino, pointing both Wayward Wind and Void Gear at Domino as I ascended.

I made Void Gear and Wayward Wind vanish, and I wrapped my fingers around the blade of the X-Blade that Domino held, and using all my force, I ripped it from his hands, grabbed the handle, and drove the blade into Domino's heart.

"No…" Domino said, a tear leaking out of his eye. "I had to win…Rika and I…we had to win!" His body started exploding with dark energy, and his darkness started swirling around the X-Blade. "No, Vanitas! Damn you…I had to be the victor!"

And then Domino…exploded. His entire body was ripped apart, dark liquid spewing out and being absorbed into the X-Blade. And Rika was never able to see this. She thought Domino had lived and won. The last remnants of Domino had all but vanished, locked away once again in the safety of the X-Blade.

I now held the X-Blade in my hand…and I fell down. I was falling straight to the ground, the X-Blade slipping out of my grasp as I lost consciousness. I could see my subconscious…Ventus was looking at me with sad eyes, and Dara looked pretty upset.

I looked below me before I completely slipped away, and saw Malik, staring at the ground with a frown, vanishing into a corridor of darkness. He didn't care about me, it seems.

And at last, I had completely fallen asleep into the depths of my subconscious, just as I had hit the ground.

.

**Did you love this climactic chapter? There should be at least three or four more chapters, but they'll be shorter than this, hehe...the climax is over practically. I also will not be giving you a preview of next chapter. So...PLEASE REVIEW!**


	19. Road to Xehanort

**Road to Xehanort**

I had opened my eyes, expecting to see myself splattered in a pool of my own black blood. I had fallen quite a distance. But I was not even in the Keyblade Graveyard anymore. I found myself sitting on a throne in that round room within the World that Never Was. I could control my head, but the entire rest of my body seemed paralyzed.

I couldn't lift my arms, kick my legs, or even try to jerk away from the throne. I noticed that this throne, the thirteenth to be exact, was all the way on the ground unlike the others. I looked ahead, and in the center of the Nobody insignia on the floor was Young Xehanort, and in front of him, laying lifeless on the ground were Wayward Wind and Void Gear, with the X-Blade lying in between them.

I looked upward. The throne directly across from mine, the first in the series of thrones, which was also the highest, had Master Xehanort sitting atop it with his leg crossed and his cheek resting on his hand as he stared down at me.

"All of this has been decided—" Master Xehanort replied, and appearing out of corridors of darkness on each of their respective thrones were Xemnas, Xehanort's Heartless, Braig, Isa, and Dulor. Young Xehanort stayed on the Nobody insignia.

Xehanort continued, "—where our thirteenth member was meant to sit in that chair, and our Organization would be complete. Sadly, more of our members were not fit for the task. But at last, we have the thirteenth. Whether or not we bring back previous members is up to me."

"Some of them didn't want to be in the Organization," I snapped back. "The replica of Riku, the old Ansem the Wise, and Master Eraqus…neither of them _wanted_ to be in this Organization. Why choose them?"

"Because they are each very powerful candidates, and have each been involved with the Organization somehow," Young Xehanort said silently. "But enough about that."

"It's time for you, Nega Boy, to become one with Xehanort!" Braig called at me.

"Let's do it," Isa replied, and raised his hand in the air, just as I felt…movement beneath me. The throne I sat on started ascending into the air until I was even with Master Xehanort. He motioned his hand through the air. "Now, Xehanort!"

Golden lights appeared on each of his fingers, and then they were replaced by darkness. He swung his Keyblade forward, and a glowing ball of light—a heart…his heart—blasted towards me from the blade.

As it neared me, I could feel the intensifying darkness from within that heart, no matter how bright it actually looked. And then it collided with my chest, and disappeared in a flash of light and a flurry of darkness. I felt the heart easing its way into me.

I couldn't even describe it. At first it felt nice, a heart of light entering my body. It calmed me, soothed me, and even overshadowed Ventus and Dara. But then I felt a burning. A feeling so unreal I wish I was dreaming. I don't know how, but I felt the _evil_, the evil heart of Xehanort worming its way into my heart.

I started coughing, mentally ripping my hair out at how much this transition was hurting me. I felt myself slowly slipping away from consciousness. I thought I saw Ven's light in the distance. Dara's light, even. But soon, the two were gone. I couldn't see anything now.

I then felt a calmness, and the feeling of pain finally ended. I opened my eyes. Blackness surrounded me, the cold air stinging against my now naked body. I fell down headfirst through a giant expanse of darkness. The cold air was replaced by a feeling of wetness…water? I felt like I was diving through cold water.

_Sleep, child, as your descent brings you ever closer to your destiny._ Where had that voice come from? I looked around, only to be spoken to again.

_I assure you, I am no physical being. Now, child, just drift until you reach the edge of your heart towards your inevitable destiny._

I drifted forward, upside down as I descended downward. I had finally seen the glimmer of light ahead of me. A large stain glass circular platform, the colors arranged to look like…Ventus. In the center of the white platform was Ventus, sitting in a white throne. The room in Castle Oblivion…

I had gotten so close to the platform that I could touch it. I reached my hand forward, my hand pressing against the cool glass, as it shattered, a strong force soon pulling me downward. The glass that had shattered cut at my exposed body as I was pulled into the abyss.

Farther downward, I saw another glimmer of light. A stain glass platform with a picture of Aqua, standing along the shore of the Dark Meridian. I had also seen a black hooded figure to the side of her…Ansem the Wise?

The glass shattered once more, and my descent became faster downward as I flew past chunks of colored glass. The next platform I saw was of Terra's armor in front of a brown background. Terranort stood by him, a hand on his shoulder and the Guardian rising from his back. Eraqus stood at the edge of the platform with a tear dropping down his cheek. And just like the rest, the platform shattered into a million pieces.

I kept falling downward, and I saw yet _another_ stain glass platform. This time it was one with Roxas…and someone who looked exactly like me, only with brown hair and blue eyes. _Sora_. Sora stood holding the Kingdom Key, and Roxas was grabbing it as well. The background behind them was white. And then it shattered, and I fell forward.

The next platform was of Naminé and who I guessed was _Kairi_, who had red hair. The two were holding hands in front of another white background. The platform shattered, and I fell even further.

The next was of…Riku? He looked older than Repliku, with longer hair. He was by himself, his hand outstretched and in it the Way to the Dawn. The background was a mix of red and black. When that platform vanished, I kept falling forward.

I then saw a stain glass platform with only Xion on it, her hood down and her blue eyes shining at me. A smaller picture of Kairi was to her left, and to her right was a smaller picture of Naminé.

When the platform shattered, I descended even further, this time in control of how fast or slow I was able to go. The next platform was of Malik and Kirito Kamikaze, in front of a background filled with buildings. A picture of a broken heart was in between the two, and just like the heart, the entire building shattered without warning.

I slowly descended deeper into the abyss, when I landed on a platform with Dara on it. Except, this wasn't the Dara I quite remembered. He had brown hair that was spikey like Sora's, but his eyes were still brown. A younger version of Dara. In place of his actual heart was a picture of a heart, glowing bright with radiance. The background behind him was of the Destiny Islands. And beneath my feet, the platform vanished as well.

At long last, I had finally landed on a stain glass platform familiar to me. My _own_ heart. A red and black platform with a picture of me, my eyes closed as I sat calmly. I walked to the middle of the platform, and the voice addressed me again.

_Your destiny does not end here, child. This is but a mere beginning. Your journey extends far beyond._

The platform I was on was swallowed by the darkness, and the water-like feeling vanished, and I was dripping with water, freezing my ass off. When the darkness vanished, there was nothing beneath my feet so I fell down hard. I landed on another platform, on my feet.

My bare feet were freezing on the cold hard stain glass platform. I looked down at it. The entire platform was the face of Xehanort. Giant golden eyes, a wicked smile and those pointed ears, a shiny bald head and a long silvery beard.

_This is the place where your destiny ends. In a place of darkness is where your heart lies._

A corridor of darkness appeared in front of me, and stepping out of it was none other than Master Xehanort, the old coot himself. He smiled at me and said, "Hello, Vanitas, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to my heart."

"I should have passed out at this giant ugly mug you wear," I snapped at him, insulting his face as I pointed to the gigantic stain glass face I was standing on. "So you're heart…is inside of me?"

"Correct, Vanitas," Xehanort replied, walking closer to me and putting a cold hand on my bare shoulder. "You are our number _XIII_, _Vanitas_!"

"Before you do anything!" I shouted, I clutched my heart, and two glowing orbs of light shot from where my heart should be, and they soared through the air and towards the top of this abyss. "Go, Ventus! Dara! Find your way to Sora's heart!"

And just like that, Ven's heart and Dara's heart vanished from sight, and the entire area around me went to black.

I closed my eyes, and heard the voice again, _It's time to wake up now_.

I opened my eyes, and saw myself sitting on the thirteenth throne. I could not believe it. That dream had seemed so real. But I couldn't feel Ven's or Dara's light within me. They were _gone_. The next thing I noticed was that I was now wearing that accursed black cloak of the Organization. I felt different somehow.

I started looking around me. Each of the thrones were filled. Some of the thrones were even filled with people I hadn't seen before. I couldn't see their faces, as they were all hooded now, but I could tell they were different from the ones who had died.

In the throne ahead from me, Master Xehanort, the only one not wearing a cloak, smiled at me. He spoke in his old, menacing voice. "Number XIII."

.

**Did you like this final chapter, as a Dive to the Heart sequence? Yes, it was short. Well, let's recap...Vanitas is now Number XIII, and now Vanitas has somehow sent Ven and Dara to go and find Sora's heart. After this chapter, there will be two more: an epilogue, and a trailer for my next story that will act as a sort of prequel to this story AND the entirety of Kingdom Hearts. So...REVIEW!**


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**09**

Lurking in the corner of Xehanort's library within Hollow Bastian is Lea, his back against the wall and his arms crossed as he did nothing but stare at Ienzo as the latter read book after book without breaking a sweat. Ienzo, while reading one book intently, said, "It's not polite to stare, you know."

Lea chuckled as Ienzo could tell when he was lurking around, despite Ienzo's eyes being preoccupied. "So, do you think that Vanitas kid got what he wanted from Xehanort, or what? And speaking of which, I wonder what the old man is doing."

Even walked into the room with a scowl across his face as he snapped, "Ienzo, go assist Aeleus. He needs your help down in the lab." Ienzo sighed in annoyance and heeded the man's words, walking out of the room and towards the lab. "Lea, I hope we understand each other. You killed me, and if you stand in my way again I will kill you."

"Is that a threat?" Lea replied. "And Axel killed you, Lea didn't." Even growled at the man's incompetence. "Come now, I helped you in achieving your goal. Obtaining that heart you've longed for. Xehanort had no right to take them from us, and you know that."

A noise ripped through the air like a knife. It sounded like glass breaking. Ienzo must have heard it because he dashed out of the lab in a hurry, entering the library and approaching the old painting of Xehanort. He placed a hand on the glass and moved it over a section of it that had a huge crack in it.

The painting had never been damaged before. But now, for some reason, there was a small crack in the glass that was above the painting.

"Well that's an omen if I've ever seen one," Lea replied, rubbing the back of his head as he inspected the mysterious crack in the glass.

**…**

**08**

The world of Utopia was peaceful, up until a corridor of darkness appeared on the bridge, letting Malik walk out of it. He made the corridor vanish. "Ugh…" he moaned to himself, before falling onto his knees as he grabbed the side of the bridge to keep him up.

"Malik?" a voice asked, and rushing to him was his brother, Kirito. Kirito helped Malik up and said, "Always popping in when it's least expected."

"Not gonna take my Keyblade privileges, are ya?" Malik asked.

"I think I can make an exception for my brother."

**…**

**07**

The Moogle from Traverse Town that Vanitas had met walked around the Traverse Ruins, now in an all-black coat similar to the Organization's. And not even after ten steps, Moogle was acquainted with Julius who bounded up to him. There was a large gash in his stomach, soaked with blood. A few bullet holes were all over his ripped shirt and jeans.

Julius made a low growl as if to ask Moogle something, and Moogle responded, "My name is of no importance." The beast held out its hand for Moogle, and Moogle nodded.

**…**

**06**

The Badlands were completely quiet now as the Organization had finally left it. A single brown and gold armor-suited person stood on his knees, Keyblade digging into the earthy soil. **"****Aqua…Ven…one day I will set this right."**

**…**

**05**

In the now calm Castle Oblivion, within the room that was now completely hidden once again, Ventus sat in his throne, sleeping without an heart, as he still long awaited the day that he would be awoken. _I've become a part their heart, just as they've become a part of mine. My friends are my power... and I'm theirs._

As the heartless boy thought of these words within his subconscious, he smiled.

**…**

**04**

The Realm of Darkness seemed completely peaceful. Aqua hadn't heard any Heartless on the outside of the Dark Meridian anymore. She was now on her knees, her hands over the fallen body of Ansem the Wise. She didn't know where he had come from, but he had just recently fallen out of a corridor of darkness and had a huge amount of damage done on his heart.

Aqua willed all her strength to help the poor, now Xehanort-free man, and a green light washed over him before vanishing. Ansem's eyes snapped open and the man stood up, brushing the dirt off his black coat. He took Aqua's hands in his and squeezed them tight as he silently thanked her for what she'd done for him.

A footstep crunched on the sand, and Ansem and Aqua cocked their heads to the side to see who approached. The boy there clearly looked lost, his aquamarine eyes glancing every which way for answers that weren't coming to him.

Aqua gasped at the striking similarities to someone she had met long ago, perhaps more than ten years ago. The boy smiled at he as he ruffled his silver hair.

**…**

**03**

Rika opened her eyes, and she now saw the Keyblade Graveyard before her. She looked around, desperately trying to find her friend, Domino. "Domino, did you win!?" But she was obviously wrong. Because not even a second after she said that, she gasped and looked to the ground in sadness, tears leaking from her eyes.

She ran forward as she cried, looking to either side of her to the Keyblades of Light and Dark, but there was no sign of The X-Blade or Domino. She had finally reached the large hole that was once _Kane_'s grave, but was now a deep abyss none could escape from.

She looked into it and silently gasped, a tear falling off of her nose and into the chasm below. When a sad nod, she turned around, put her heels on the very edge of the abyss, and fell over backwards, falling into the chasm without knowing what lay ahead, other than the thought of finding Kane.

**…**

**02**

Xion stood over Roxas, watching him as he slowly sat up from a deep sleep. Naminé had appeared in a flash of light to the side of him, and Xion quickly gripped both Roxas and Naminé into a tight hug. "Welcome back," Xion said while crying tears into Naminé and Roxas's shoulders.

"Vanitas is gone," Naminé replied sadly. "The Organization probably has him…along with Ventus."

"Don't worry, they can find a way out," Roxas replied, comforting Naminé by putting his hands on her shoulders. "I know they will."

They heard knocking coming from outside, and within seconds there were footsteps inside of the treehouse. Naminé looked forward with a tearful glint in her eyes. In the doorway was Ventus, asleep and in the arms of another person. His bald head shined in the sunlight and his brown eyes looked to be full of happiness.

"Who…" Naminé was about to say, and Roxas put a finger over her mouth to keep her quiet.

The man put Ven down, and he looked around the treehouse. With one final look, Dara closed his eyes and said, "So this is Sora's heart." He smiled as a tear fell off of his cheek. He was finally at peace.

**…**

**01**

_"__Yeah…It's just, they really need me. I have to go. I am who I am…because of them."_

Sora, Riku, and Kairi were at the Mysterious Tower to meet with Yen Sid. After their meeting, they sat on the steps outside as a corridor of darkness appeared to the side of them, releasing Lea.

"Axel?" Sora asked with confusion, and Lea face-palmed.

"Okay, Kairi, are you ready?" Lea asked, walking up to the girl and helping her up to her feet. Kairi nodded. "Good." He caught the confused stares coming off of Sora and Riku, so he replied, "Yen Sid is having those three good fairies conjure up a world that doesn't have an exact flow of time. Doing this allows Kairi and I to train with our Keyblades for an infinite amount of time without any time passing in the real world. Then we'll be ready to face Xehanort."

"That sounds like it'll work," Sora replied, putting a hand on _Master_ Riku's shoulder. "Then you two could catch up to me and Riku."

"Catch up to _you_, you mean," Riku said, chuckling a little bit. "I'm a Keyblade Master, remember? They can't catch up to me that quickly."

"Don't let this master stuff go to your head," Sora said while pouting.

"Don't worry, I won't." Riku closed his eyes and relaxed as Sora did the same. "So, what do you think the next journey holds for us?"

"I don't know," Lea answered for Sora. "But it would be great finally being a part of the team. I'll be a lot stronger by the time Xehanort returns. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah, sure," Sora replied. "I do wonder…what's going to happen now?" Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Lea looked up at the sky that was filled with an endless amount of stars.

**00**

**Re:Connect**

**Kingdom Hearts III**

**_"_****_Believing light and darkness must remain in balance, Master Xehanort seeks to spark war against the 'tyranny of light' to restore equilibrium. In an effort to undermine Xehanort's plot, Sora, Donald and Goofy search for seven guardians of light and the "Key to Return Hearts," while King Mickey and Riku search for previous Keyblade wielders._****"**


	21. Special Secret Ending: Domino Effect

**Special Secret Ending **

**-Domino Effect-**

**.**

**Something so simple…**

Birds were chirping and people were bustling around, chatting amongst themselves. Without a cloud in the sky, the sun shined over the land.

**But not so clean…**

Tall buildings stretched out towards the sky as rain slowly but surely poured down. The sounds of the waves of the lake lapping at the ground as it began to overflow overwhelmed the entire city. And within minutes, the streets began flooding as waterspouts and tornados covered every section of the one peaceful world.

And over the roar of the wind and rain, a single name could be heard coming from nearly everyone below. **"****Domino!"**

**Someone so calming…**

A young boy with purple hair outstretched his arm and pointed his finger, allowing a tiny blue bird to fly onto it. The bird chirped and flew away happily, the boy smiling after it.

**Yet so ruthless…**

Silver eyes stared down at the once peaceful city as it nearly drowned, many people seeming as if they were going to die. A smile plays across his face as he chuckles at the poor, innocent civilians. **"****It had to be done."**

**A land of combat…**

In a land filled with green grass and blue skies, people wielding Keyblades fought valiantly, blood splattering on the green grass and a death at every turn.

**_Not_****a Sanctuary**

The Keyblades of fallen warriors were stuck in the ground, no longer carried by their now dead masters. A man with purple hair floated high above the entire scene, smiling at what he had caused. A war over the light that had started with this man.

A girl floated by his side, smiling evilly down at the carnage below. When she looked down, a boy with black hair and shining golden eyes stood there looking up at her, and he blasted off of the ground, flying at her.

The girl took out a Keyblade of her own and sliced it through the air, but it was deflected off of the boy's Keyblade. He looked to the man on the side of the girl, gold eyes meeting with silver, and the two locked Keyblades and began a vicious battle in the sky.

The two, in midair, flew away from each other for a moment, stared into each other's eyes, and flew back towards one another, and there Keyblades clashed, light and dark winds exploding from the two clashing Keys as the two stared at each other with hate in their eyes.

**It all began with—**

**The ****_Domino Effect_**

The black haired boy fell out of the dark sky and crashed into the ground as the purple haired one stood staring down at him.

**_Coming September 1_****_st_****_, 2014_**


End file.
